Ono Academic College student, Fadi Qassam, recently received the Medal of Distinguished Social Service for his courageous actions during the recent social unrest in Israel.  Mr. Qassam came to the aid of Mor Janashvili, a Jewish man who was attacked by dozens of Arab citizens who tried to lynch him in the city of Acre.

Mr. Qassam, who is Arab, defended Mr. Janashvili with his body, struggled to keep the rioters away from him and waited with him until security forces arrived and rescued him and evacuated him to the hospital.

In the letter of award it was written that “Fadi performed an act that every person should have done but only Fadi had the courage to do so. When he ran into a social inferno to save a man who was ostensibly from the other side, he served as a moral role model for all of us and demonstrated the social responsibility to which we seek to educate all students at Ono Academic College.”

In the words of thanks he delivered at the ceremony, Mr. Qassam said he did not understand at all why he deserved the Medal because “I did the obvious. This is how I was educated. The only thing before me was to save Mor who was being attacked. I did not consider whether he was Jewish or Arab. To me, one person to another person is a person.”

Ono applauds the brave actions of Mr. Qassam and wishes that his moral clarity would be so clear to everyone. He summoned all the powers at his command to run into hell to save another despite the danger he faced in doing so.