VOA慢速英语--犹太男死于以巴暴力冲突,跨越恩怨捐肾给阿拉伯妇人

An Arab woman has received a kidney from a Jewish man killed in clashes between Arabs and Jews in the Israeli city of Lod.

The man, 56-year-old Yigal Yehoshua, died May 17 after being hit by rocks during riots in Lod, a mixed city of Israel's Jews and Arabs.

The violence followed protests and clashes in Jerusalem that also led to an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.

In the violence in Lod and other mixed cities inside Israel, groups of Arabs and Jews fought each other in the streets. Rioters also burned cars and businesses.

But after a series of violent days, there was a rare moment of hope. Randa Aweis, a 58-year-old mother of six, got one of Yehoshua's kidneys after a 10-year wait. Yehoshua was registered as an organ donor¹ and his kidney was identified as a medical fit for Aweis.

"I could not believe it," Aweis told The Associated Press from the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. "I'm telling you, I couldn't believe it."

She added: "People say he was a good man, that he didn't do any harm, so why was he murdered? ... That's forbidden. There must be peace between Jews and Arabs, real peace."

Israelis have come to expect periodic unrest in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. But the latest violence shocked many Israelis by spilling over into other areas. The clashes hit closer to home for Israelis than at any point since the 2000 Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which lasted more than five years.

Israel's Arab citizens, who make up 20 percent of the population, said the violence was rooted in longstanding tensions. Israeli Arabs have citizenship², including the right to vote, but they face widespread discrimination. They also have close familial ties to the Palestinians and largely identify with their movement. This leads many Jewish Israelis to treat them with suspicion.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke³ about the Jewish man's death when it was announced last week. "I share in the sorrow of the family of the late Yigal Yehoshua who was murdered in a lynch carried out by Arab rioters in Lod," he said.

"We will settle accounts with whoever participated in this murder; nobody will escape punishment," he added.

Police have arrested several suspects in connection with the violence.

Aweis never met Yehoshua, but she did speak to his wife on a tearful video call. She said she hopes to visit his family in person once she has recovered from the kidney transplant.

"Yigal saved me," Aweis said. "And as much as I say thank you to the family, to everyone, it's not enough."

Words in This Story

forbid – v. to order someone not to do something

lynch – v. to kill someone who has not been found guilty of a crime at a legal trial

participate – v. to take part in or become involved in an activity

transplant – n. a medical operation in which an unhealthy organ is replaced with a healthy one

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。