Mark Halawi (see here previously) has just received his Israeli citizenship. He was born and raised in Kuwait but moved to Jerusalem (via Jordan, Syria and Canada) when he discovered that his mother was Jewish and had married a Muslim … Continue reading →

Mark Halawa lights his Chanukiah in Jerusalem and recalls his unique journey as a Kuwaiti Muslim to Orthodox Judaism. Mark’s Jewish maternal grandmother married a Jordanian Muslim. The family moved to Kuwait and then Canada where Mark approached a Chabad … Continue reading →

Mumtaz Halawa’s journey from Kuwaiti Muslim to Israeli Jew featured in my Jan 2015 newsletter. Together with StandWithUs, Mumtaz (now Mark) has since developed an Arabic-language YouTube video series. It aims to dispel spurious anti-Semitic notions among the Arabs in … Continue reading →

After years of being educated to hate Jews, Mumtaz Halawa was shocked to learn he is Jewish. He changed his name to Mordechai (is better known as Mark), moved from Kuwait to Israel and settled in Jerusalem. ‘I feel like … Continue reading →