Now, in a stunning article in Al Arab and picked up by other Arabic media, a teenage girl from Nazareth slams Zoabi and declares her intention to enlist in the IDF.MK Miri Regev denounced on Wednesday Arab MKs who have campaigned for the dismissal of a Greek-Orthodox priest for backing IDF enlistment in the Christian community, during a hearing in the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee.
Last week, Balad MKs Basel Ghattas and Haneen Zoabi wrote to Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem Theophilus III, demanding that Father Gabriel Nadaf either halt his activities supporting Christian Arab enlistment or be fired by the patriarch from his position as a serving priest in his congregation in Yafia, near Nazareth.
18-year old Raghda Gracie told the newspaper:
Our recruitment is not done with coercion or force, but is my choice...I believe that we as Israelis are obliged to provide the service to the state and we have to be faithful to her and offer loyalty.Al-Arab even asked her if she objected to going into an army of people who wanted to kill Jesus! She replied that nonetheless, Jews are God's chosen people.
Haneen Zoabi has no right to speak in our name; we are Christians and not Palestinians. We were born in the State of Israel, which existed before we were born and I call on Zoabi stop speaking in our name as Arabs, Palestinians.
My father was an army officer in the Golani unit and all members of my family have served in military units and combat.
I am the first girl in the family that will serve in the army and I am proud of it; I walk in the streets of Nazareth with my head held high and proud because no one can deprive me of this dream. The army is very important for me, especially since Israel is a democratic state and does not differentiate between citizens. We are Christians and proud Israeli army Christian recruits. We are not racists, we love Arab Muslims and we ask only that Haneen Zoabi not talk in our name.
Everyone here can says that Palestinians or Arabs do not believe in this country, but it must be known that they live in it. I say to everyone whether they are Muslim Arab, Druze or Christian: if you support the Palestinians, leave to another country.
Christ and the Virgin Mary were two Jews, and we [Christian Israelis] belong more to the Jews.
The newspaper, apparently nervous about this interview, stressed that the opinions are Gracie's alone.