Bashar, a Muslim photographer in Nazareth, found a newborn abandoned on a cold street and handed her to police. Thirty-seven years later, the girl, Esther, now a Jewish woman with a family, discovered his name in old documents and reached out. Their reunion bridged a divide neither expected to cross.
He found a baby on the street. He saved it and called the police. 37 years later, he got a message from her.
Thank you for saving my life.
She was the baby.
Hello, my name is Bashar.
And my name is Esther. And this is our story.
Bashar was a photographer in Nazareth, Israel. One day, he was walking through an alley and saw a jacket.
I asked myself, what if there is a baby inside the jacket?
And there was a baby that's one hour old, alone with hypothermia. He rushed the baby to the police.
The police told me if I was twenty minutes late, the baby would be gone.
The baby was Arab, but she was adopted by a Jewish family. Her name became Esther.
Someone found me, and basically he saved my life.
I found the baby in this corner.
She became Jewish and religious, got married, and built a career. For 37 years, they didn't know each other until she opened old documents and saw his name.
Bashar. That's the guy who saved my life.
They met for the first time after 37 years, and it was emotional.
It was a very special day. I couldn't speak, I couldn't find the words, and I was very grateful. And I didn't know what should I give you as a gift to someone that saved my life.
To meet you was a great gift to me.
When we met for the first time, Bashar hugged me and—
I told you that your first hug was from me. So I hugged you again.
When people hear this story, they think the story ends when Bashar saved me. But they don't understand he saved not only me, he saved my kids. My kids grateful to this beautiful story. My husband grateful. My parents grateful to everything.
كيف بس إنك إنك تنقذ روح وهاي الروح بعد سبعة وثلاثين سنة تشوفها موجودة قدامك وحية ترزق يهودية عربية ما أفركت معاي أهم شيء كانت إنها هي موجودة وإنها ما عندها عيلة.
Bashar is a Muslim Arab. The baby was an Arab. Esther is now religious Jewish, but none of this matters.
I think as a Jewish woman. I was raised as something that I should be scared of Arabs. Instead of that, now I'm walking in with Bashar in the Arab market, and every second person says to me, you're welcome. This is your home. You are part of us.
One random walk saved one life. And today, that one life became a family of 6. This is why humanity is beautiful.
