Rare positive PA article: PA daily reports on Jew's attempt to save a drowning Palestinian
In an article about an Arab from Bethlehem who went missing at sea off the Jaffa coast, the official PA daily mentioned that a Jewish man tried to rescue him from the violent waves:
“Musa went into the sea, but did not take into account the waves that washed him away. According to a relative, he cried for help several minutes after he went into the sea, and one of the Jewish bathers responded and hurried into the sea. He succeeded in grabbing Musa’s hand, but the force [of the water] sweeping him away was most strong, and he let his hand go.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 27, 2021]
It is extremely rare to find a positive mention of individual Israelis/Jews in the official PA-controlled media.
Therefore, Palestinian Media Watch reports whenever an Israeli is portrayed positively. Another example was when the official PA daily wrote a positive obituary about Rabbi Menachem Froman of the Israeli town of Tekoa in the West Bank when he passed away, naming him “a settler and peace activist” who “worked vigorously towards a peaceful solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 5, 2013]
More common, although still rare, is praise for Israeli democracy, on an independent Palestinian news site, Israeli labor laws on PA TV, and medical care for Palestinians in the official PA daily.
The following is a longer excerpt of the report on the drowning Arab and the Jew who tried to rescue him:
“On Sunday [July 25, 2021], at approximately 7:00 p.m., Musa Abu Dayya, a young person from Bethlehem who came to spend time at the coast of Jaffa, decided to go into the sea for the last time before the sunset and then return to his city.
Musa went into the sea, but did not take into account the waves that washed him away. According to a relative, he cried for help several minutes after he went into the sea, and one of the Jewish bathers responded and hurried into the sea. He succeeded in grabbing Musa’s hand, but the force [of the water] sweeping him away was most strong, and he let his hand go. He was the last person who saw Musa, who disappeared into the sea.
From that moment, the Abu Dayya family has not received any information. Some of its young people went to Jaffa to continue the searches for Musa, which continued yesterday for the third consecutive day.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 27, 2021]