A childhood friend group from the religious school ‘Shuvu’ helped rescue a woman, identified only as M., from an Arab village after years of silence and fear. M. had studied in first and second grade with the women, then left abroad with her family. She later married a young Arab man she met at work, had children with him, and kept her location and identity hidden for safety.
The effort began after one urgent phone call M. managed to place from her home. According to the friends, she said her husband beat her repeatedly, threatened to kill her if she did not obey him, and begged them to help her escape and start over. The women arranged a secret video call while he was out, and M. said she was terrified he would kill her immediately if he discovered she was speaking with Jewish friends.
Two classmates, one a lawyer and one a social worker, took on the case voluntarily and formed what they called a class-based rescue team. Over several months, progress repeatedly stalled when M. disappeared for weeks after her husband suspected something and beat her severely. Eventually, she reappeared from a new phone number. Her extraction was carried out by the organization Yad La’Achim, with full IDF support.
M. has since completed the necessary steps with the authorities and regularized her family status so her husband cannot harm her or claim custody rights over the children. She now lives in one of Israel’s major cities, still in fear of him, which is why her name and city remain undisclosed. Her friends said the most emotional part came two months ago, when she enrolled the son she had with her Arab husband in the same ‘Shuvu’ school where she studied 25 years earlier, calling it a deeply moving full circle back to life.
