I think this is encouraging:

“The Jews have always lived here, in this house, and it is only normal that we should protect them,” said Ibrahim Mohamad, 36, who works in a small undergarments factory near the center of town.



Although the majority of Jews fled the country in the early 1950s, many of their Muslim tenants come each week to pay their rent to an old woman at the center, Mohamad said.

He recalled that in October 1998, a Palestinian killed two Jews and two Muslims in an attack on the community center. “We raced help to the victims, regardless of whether they were Jewish or Muslim”.

In the Batauin district near the Saddun commercial artery, the entrance of a large synagogue is blocked by an immense iron portal. The way onto the street is obstructed by trees and chairs. A self-defense militia formed Friday to fight back against bandits.

“We are defending the synagogue like all houses on the street and we will not let anyone touch it,” said Edward Benham, a 19-year-old computer science student. The young Christian said Jews normally came each Saturday but because of the lingering security problem, no one came today.