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| - Fact Check: Gripping story of Israeli soldier's conversion to Islam goes viral, but it's fake
The story of an Israeli soldier, who was allegedly part of the clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque, but converted to Islam out of remorse, recently went viral. However, India Today's Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) dug deep and found it to be an outright fabrication.
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India Today Fact Check
The woman is Sergeant Adi Azulai, a field observer with the IDF. She was neither part of the Al-Aqsa clashes nor did she convert to Islam.
After weeks of clashes with Israeli forces, Palestine has seen relative calm over the past few days. Sentiments, however, are still high over the clashes at Al-Aqsa mosque last month that left scores injured. The mosque in Jerusalem is of much significance in Islam.
Now, a picture of a woman in uniform is circulating on social media with the claim that she was part of the “attack” on worshippers at Al-Aqsa mosque. The claim further says that upon realising her mistake, she has converted to Islam.
“Breaking News: This Israeli soldier attacked worshippers inside Al-Aqsa mosque along with her comrades. Today, this brave has suddenly converted to Islam. This is the top news in Palestine. Alhamdulillah! Islam shall win!” says the caption in Hindi.
The archived version can be seen here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) reached out to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) regarding the viral claim. Responding to our email, an IDF spokesperson said the girl in the picture is serving in the force as a field observer. She is a Jew and claims of her conversion are totally baseless.
WHO IS THE GIRL?
A reverse search of the viral picture led us to the IDF’s Instagram page. Here, the picture was shared on April 29, 2021, with the caption, “All the way from the Golan Heights in northern Israel, Sgt. Adi is a field observer who serves right near her hometown.”
“My birthplace has become the operational area that I’m responsible for guarding. To identify anything that poses a threat to Israel makes me proud to be an IDF soldier,” the post quotes her.
The same picture and quote were posted on the IDF’s official Facebook page too. This confirms that the girl is indeed an Israeli soldier.
An IDF representative told AFWA that the girl in the viral picture is Sergeant Adi Azulai, a field observer with the force’s 595th battalion. Rubbishing claims of her conversion, the spokesperson added that she is still a Jew, and second, she wasn’t part of the clashes at Al-Aqsa.
WHAT DO IDF FIELD OBSERVERS DO?
According to the official website of IDF, field observers mostly monitor or track enemy movements through the use of technology and surveillance equipment. They work in liaison with intelligence services and on-field security forces to detect and neutralise threats.
Nowhere is it mentioned on the website that field observers are deployed during firefights.
DID PALESTINIAN MEDIA REPORT VIRAL CLAIM?
The viral claim says that news of Sgt. Adi converting to Islam was trending at the number one spot in Palestine. But contrary to the claim, we did not find any credible report on the same.
We even attempted searching the viral claim in Arabic, the primary language of Palestinians, but still didn’t get any result. Nor did we get any related media report in Hebrew, Israel’s official language.
Hence, it is evident that neither did Sergeant Adi Azulai of IDF attack people inside Al-Aqsa mosque nor did she convert to Islam.
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