No apologies: Lucy Aharish is honored to be both Arab and Israeli on Independence Day
The backlash began on March 8, with the announcement of the 14 individuals chosen to light a torch at this year’s official Independence Day ceremony. Lucy Aharish, 33 and the first Arab Muslim news anchor on Israeli Hebrew television, had not done enough to merit the honor, according to some. Others on the extreme right say she is not sufficiently loyal to the state, while on the other side of the spectrum she has been accused, by both Arabs and Jews, of playing the obedient Arab, salving Jewish consciences. Aharish isn’t sure if she deserves the honor, either, but she’ll be damned if anyone will tell her she can’t receive it. “Do I need to care what other people are thinking?” she tells Haaretz in a recent interview.
This year’s torchlighters at the ceremony that marks the transition from Memorial Day to Independence Day include discount supermarket-chain founder Rami Levy and Ehud Shabtai, a founder of navigation app Waze. In explaining its decision, the Ministerial Committee for Symbols and Ceremonies said Aharish “represents and advances social pluralism and positions calling for coexistence in our country.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/1.652936
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