It was a rare and touching moment stemming from a tragedy: Jewish and Bedouin mourners joining to pay their final respects to 45-year-old Michael Ben Zikri.
On July 3, the newlywed and father of three from Ashdod drowned after rescuing a Bedouin Arab family from a sinkhole in Nahal Shikma, a manmade lake south of Ashkelon.
Ben Zikri’s widow, Cheli, reported that the water was no deeper than a wading pool and so she was puzzled when someone appeared to be in distress. Her husband handed her his sunglasses and said, “Go to the beach, I’m going to save them.”
On her way back to shore, she herself got stuck in a sinkhole and had to be helped out. Later, she directed rescue services to where she’d last seen her husband and they recovered his body. Apparently, the effort of saving four members of the al-Karem family had left him with no strength to save himself.
The rescued woman and the children, aged 14, 10 and 7, were released from the hospital on July 5. On that same day, their extended al-Karem family from the Bedouin village of Hura came to Ben Zikri’s funeral in Ashkelon.
A group of boys from the village came with a hand-lettered Hebrew sign saying: “Thanks and appreciation for your bravery. Condolences to the family. The youth of Hura.”
Read More: Israel 21c