New book: The gripping story of a Palestinian who fled to Israel and converted to Judaism

Dor Shajar, who was born into a Muslim family in Gaza and escaped to Israel, where he converted to Judaism, recently published 'From Gaza to Tel Aviv: The Unbelievable True Story of a Muslim Palestinian Who Escaped to Israel and Became a Jew,' the English version of the book in which he reveals his hard and gripping story.

In the autobiographical book, which had already been published in Hebrew, Shajar recounts that he was born into an environment where hatred of Jews was inculcated from the earliest childhood. In schools, the media, the streets and even in the home, the message was: the enemy was to be destroyed. His own father brutally tortured him for refusing to hate, for rejecting the idea of murdering Jews and for dreaming of a life of peace and tranquility.

Everything changed when Dor began working in Israel. There he met real Israeli Jews: people without horns or three legs, as he had been taught in Gaza, but ordinary human beings, many of them extraordinary, kind and welcoming. That encounter broke down the wall of lies in which he had grown up and opened a crack of light in his life.

A series of profound experiences led him to feel a spiritual connection with the Jewish people. Convinced that this was his true place, he made the bravest decision of his life: converting to Judaism and settling in Israel, the home he had always felt was his in the depths of his soul.

The road was not easy. He faced obstacles, injustice, rejection and suffering. But, as he himself conveys in his book, when the goal is light, freedom and life - leaving hatred and destruction behind - every effort and pain is worth it.

Dor Shajar has been raising his voice with painful clarity for years: the Palestinian society, as he experienced it, has not genuinely longed for peace. It has been educated for death, martyrdom and hatred, and responds only to the language of force. After the terrible events of October 7, 2023, his message became even more urgent. Today more people are listening to him, but - he insists - it is still not enough.

His autobiographical testimony has been translated and edited by David Suarez and Leandro Fleischer, with a foreword by the latter. The book is available on Amazon in both physical and digital (Kindle) formats.

The digital version can be downloaded for free until January 24 (2026). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GFXSBPQS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0

This is a story of personal transformation, of breaking chains of indoctrination and choosing life over hate. A courageous and necessary tale in times where lies are the order of the day.