Nas Daily Says ‘Most Jews And Arabs Want To Get Along’
Nas, or Nuseir Yassin Image by Facebook/Nas Daily
In footage of his 2018 visit to Jerusalem, an Israeli-Jewish family surrounds Israeli-Palestinian 26-year-old Nas.
“All Arabs are terrorists!” a 13-year-old Orthodox girl shouts. “But I am an Arab,” Nas says, grinning painfully. “Arabs are barbarians,” the girl’s adult brother says. “They aren’t intelligent.”
The video, the 998th travel video in the same number of days made by social media darling Nuseir Yassin, or Nas, is called “The Truth About Jews and Arabs.”
What is the truth about Jews and Arabs? About Israelis and Palestinians? Which group are terrorists? Which are intelligent? What’s the truth?
As the footage continues, three more Orthodox Israeli women approach Nas. “We were just talking about you!” one exclaims. The women are fans of Nas, whose mission to make 1,000 short videos in 1,000 days documenting his travels around the world has won him a loyal following of over 10 million people. In a mix of Hebrew and English, the women gush that they loved the video Nas made of his trip to Eilat, and eagerly ask him to share his favorite stop in his travels.
“The Philippines,” he says, immediately. “You have to go.”
The women, wrapped in modest coats and tights, wave goodbye to Nas, grinning.
It’s that second interaction, Nas insists, which represents the true situation. “There was no hate, and no racism” in his meeting with the Orthodox women, he says. “The majority of Jews and Arabs want to get along,” he explains. “Don’t let a few bad apples ruin it for everyone.”
It’s an emotional near-conclusion to an epic journey undertaken by the engineer-turned-social-media star. The Harvard-educated Galilee native quit a prestigious job as an engineer at a startup in Manhattan when he realized that, at 25-years-old at a time when life expectancy for males is 76, his life was 32 percent over.
Seizing on to the idea that every day should be treated as a gift, he took on a mission to travel the world, making a video for each of his thousand days of adventure. With only two days left, Nas has crossed the globe from the Amazon to Ethiopia, covering homelessness, suicide, potatoes, and his own relationship, applying the same overjoyed curiosity to every topic.
An aspect of his journey that has fascinated viewers found him falling in love with Alyne Tamir, an Israeli with a Jewish and Mormon background. Traveling together, they have documented their fights, their conversations about marriage, and their love of Tel Aviv’s vegan scene.
“When Israelis and Palestinians make peace, I am confident the entire world’s happiness levels will rise by 10 percent,” Nas captioned the video. “It’s a global issue.”
Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
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