"They Taught Me That Jews Drink the Blood of Babies, and Suddenly the Jew Treats Me Nicely"

It was precisely in moments when bullets flew over his head that Yisrael Salah realized someone above was watching over him. Later, he was surprised to learn that Jews actually don't drink the blood of babies and understood there was no need to pray for their death. Born a Muslim in Darfur, Sudan, he gradually found his way to Judaism. Despite facing many difficulties, he stood resolutely against them until his conversion.

Escape to Israel

Yisrael, who once held a typical Arabic name, was born into a family of 15 children in Sudan. "When I grew up, I decided to flee from my hometown with a group of thousands of Sudanese to Egypt," he says. "In Egypt, we were surrounded by a massive army of soldiers, and the treatment we received was terrible, to say the least. Because of this, after facing numerous hardships, I decided to try to reach Israel, paid $100 to the Bedouins to guide me there, and we walked all night toward the border fence. Near the fence, the Bedouins left my friend and me alone and disappeared, leaving us standing there, unsure of what to do."

Israel Salah in the past

Despite the uncertainty, the two decided to keep moving forward toward the Israeli border. "Suddenly, a barrage of bullets began to fly at us, with three Egyptian soldiers guarding the place shooting at us from just 40 meters away. As I heard the bullets whistling around me, it was clear to me that it was a miracle they didn't hit, and in those moments, I felt someone above was watching over me."

When they reached the fence, Yisrael and his friend jumped over toward the State of Israel, and his friend continued running forward and disappeared from his view. "I didn't know which direction he went, so I started to move forward myself. I ran over the mountains in complete darkness until daylight," he describes. "I had no idea where I was going or who I would meet, but I had no other choice but to continue. At 8:30 AM, I suddenly saw soldiers and feared they might be Egyptian. I was very thirsty, without water, so I decided to approach them anyway, knowing I was risking my life, but understanding that I might die without water too. I approached them with my hands raised, waiting to see what would happen, my heart pounding."

When a soldier addressed him in Arabic, Yisrael thought it was the end. "It was a Bedouin soldier serving in the Israeli army, but I didn't imagine there were Arabic speakers in the land, so I assumed he was Egyptian," he says. "The soldier checked me and asked me to empty my backpack, and when he saw I wasn't dangerous, he asked where my friend was." Just then, a Jewish soldier arrived. "The Jew first offered me water and told me not to be afraid because I was in Israel, and in those moments, I stood before him in disbelief. I had always been told Jews kill people, and suddenly this Jewish soldier was treating me so kindly. I held the bottle in my hand, and out of fear, it took me time to dare to drink, but it was the first moment in my life I understood that what I had been told about Jews was a complete lie."

After calming down a bit, Yisrael went with the soldiers to look for his friend. "On the way, we saw three fences, and I didn't understand how that could be because I only jumped over one fence. When we found my friend, he had a torn shirt, full of scratches, after struggling to cross the additional two fences. Even then, I felt Hashem had performed a miracle for me, because I clearly remember crossing just one fence and then continuing on a smooth path." Inside Israel, Yisrael and his friend were first taken to a room where they could sleep. "After resting a little and being checked by a doctor, we stayed for a year in Kefziot prison. From there, we were released to work on a moshav, and I eventually moved on to Eilat and finally Ashkelon."

Discovering the Lies

How did the idea of becoming Jewish occur, and why even convert?

"It started when I saw Hashem in my moments of escape to Israel, and continued later with discovering more lies I grew up with. In the Muslim world, for instance, they pray for Hashem to harm the Jews, and suddenly I discovered that Jews pray for the opposite and wish well for the whole world. I thought to myself then - if all the millions who believe in Islam pray like this, and yet the State of Israel is developing, then clearly their prayer is false and ineffective. Another thing I saw was how careful Judaism is with not consuming blood, and I realized that all the blood libels I was told about were false. Moreover, in Egypt, they just wanted to shoot me, whereas in Israel, the soldier first gave me water, and after seeing this humanity with my own eyes, I could not ignore it."

Over time, Yisrael began to ask Jews around him about Judaism. "I saw my landlord donning tefillin and praying, and I asked him to explain the prayer to me. Another Jew taught me to bless and the fact that they thank Hashem for everything they eat, touched me deeply. Thus, I began speaking with more people about Jewish values, and eventually, they referred me to the conversion court."

However, a long road still lay ahead of Yisrael before conversion. "I was rejected from converting 18 times, trying again every few months. It was a long and challenging road, but over time I studied Torah and halacha more and more, managing to answer all the questions in court. Even before conversion, I began studying in a kollel, and the rabbis I was in contact with helped me with the process. I went through 6 long years of attempts before achieving conversion, facing many challenging moments along the way, but I succeeded in overcoming them and not giving up."

Yisrael Salah today

Do you remember any particular difficulty from that period?

"I spent about two years studying in a kollel, but couldn't complete a minyan. There were ten people in the kollel, and every day, three times a day, I would hear my friends searching for a tenth person for the prayer. It was very hard for me to stand by them during those moments and feel as though I didn't exist, but at the same time, I understood this was a test from Hashem to see how strong my desire to continue on this path was."

Were there moments when you thought of giving up?

"There was such a moment, after being rejected nine times by the court, and I really thought about stopping my attempts, but then something special happened that gave me the strength to continue. For two years, I lit a candle that burned all week, praying beside it to achieve conversion. One day, I heard a lecture by a 'kabbalist', who used candles and impure names to communicate with spirits. After hearing this lecture, I panicked and feared that even my candle lighting might have been forbidden, so I asked one of my friends in the kollel about it. My friend reassured me that it's permissible to light a candle, but suggested I do so in memory of a righteous person's soul, and I chose to do it in memory of Baba Sali."

Not long after, the dream came. "In the dream, I saw myself standing on a hilltop, looking down, and seeing two women dressed in black. I started walking towards them, but suddenly I heard someone tapping with his finger behind me. I turned around and saw Baba Sali sitting on a white horse. He motioned with his finger for me to follow him, and so we began climbing to the top of the mountain. Baba Sali moved ahead and I climbed after him more and more, until I could no longer see him, but I kept climbing. When I awoke from the dream, I felt I had reason to continue, and thanks to him, I gained the strength to keep trying."

Spreading Holiness

Today, how do you feel people around you receive you?

"Overall, very well, and even if someone does hurt me, I try to accept it with love. When Shimei ben Gera cursed King David, David told his men not to harm him because this insult was from Hashem. Similarly, I feel that if I need to endure some insult from someone, it's under divine supervision."

After achieving conversion, Yisrael goes every evening from work directly to the kollel. "I am happy to perform the commandments and hope to keep studying Torah more and more," he says. "Additionally, I decided to organize a Shabbat Tehillim gathering for children, to extend the light of the Torah to them as well. Dozens of children come to this Tehillim reading every Shabbat. I feel this is the most significant age for connecting with Judaism, and I'm grateful for the privilege to pass on this holiness to them."