[ot-caption title=”At a press conference in Jerusalem, Mosab Hassan Yousef speaks with Israel’s parliament on June 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/featured-image2.jpg”]

25 months. Just over two years was the total amount of time that Mosab Hassan Yousef spent in Israeli prisons; the majority of this time in jail was spent working undercover for the Israeli intelligence forces. Sent to prison at the age 17, around the age of most students, this gentle-hearted and appreciative man was able to lead his life out of the dark cave of Hamas and toward the light of freedom and truth.

On September 20th, the author of “Son of Hamas”, Mosab Hassan Yousef addressed Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton, sharing his journey and his evolution as a human with integrity, religion and morals. Yousef has been busy spreading his story during a national speaking tour, and a documentary detailing his experiences, “The Green Prince,” was previewed in select theaters nationwide through the month of September. “The Green Prince,” written and produced by Nadav Schirman, won the Audience Award for Best Document at the Sundance Film Festival this past January.

That Saturday night, people flooded the entrances of the building prior to the event, but first had to make their way through security. Much like airport security, attendees were required to pass metal detector screenings. Congregation B’nai Israel was prepared for the risk of anyone intending to cause harm to Yousef, and thus security screenings were required. Yousef, himself, was accompanied by his personal security team, stationed nearby during his presentation.

Born and raised in the West Bank but speaking to an assembly of the Jewish community in Boca Raton in the holiest, yet unlikeliest, of settings, Yousef greeted the audience genuinely, “How did I get to this place?”

Raised in a much different world than the most people, Mosab Hassan Yousef spoke with a gentle and peaceful demeanor that all the audience members were drawn to from his first word. He spoke of the struggles he faced growing up and how he was always pushed by high expectations from his father. However, his life goals and future after high school differed from most Pine Crest students’ aspirations of college and higher pursuits, he planned to be a terrorist.

As the eldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of the founders and leaders of Hamas, Yousef was raised with a burning hatred for the Israelis; he believed that they were the cause of many deaths in his community, many of which were his friends. Witnessing Hamas violence in the streets everyday, he stated that he developed a tainted perception of his reality, believing the Israelis wanted to rid the world of all Palestinians. However, Yousef stated that over time he realized that the opposite was true; he learned that the Hamas Palestinians’ primary mission was to eliminate the Israeli state. He compared the deaths of thousands of Palestinians at the hands of Hamas leaders to shepherds caring for sheep, stating, “the more children that die, the richer the leaders become.” This statement brought some of the audience members to tears and others were left with utter disbelief of the horrors occurring in the Middle East.

Mosab Hassan Yousef related more of his story to the audience, opening up even further and sharing a very low point in his life. After graduating from high school, Yousef’s mind set was to harm the Israelis in any way he could; he even went as far as buying weapons to do so. Israeli officials caught him before any harm was done and while interrogating him, asked him a startling question before sending him to prison: “Would you consider working for Israel?”

He was taken aback by the question since he was the son of a Hamas leader, but answered with a tentative “maybe.” Having knowledge of the cruelty inflicted on Palestinians in jail by fellow Hamas members, Yousef was bewildered and decided that he was not going to work for Hamas anymore, nor for the Israelis. After his release from prison, he was again surprised when he received a follow-up phone call from the Israeli espionage requesting a meeting. Despite his lack of desire to have anything to do with Israel, he attended the meeting, and many more meetings following that one, out of curiosity.

He soon realized that a large amount of his life was built on what he now believes to be lies and mistruths. After several meetings with the Israelis, he mentioned, “my worst enemy was telling me the truth,” and from there on out, the less he believed in his father’s ideologies.

Soon, this Palestinian son of a terrorist organization was serving as a spy for the Israeli intelligence. From stopping suicide bombers to thwarting planned shootings, Yousef had to remain undercover in order to stay alive. This often resulted in going to prison with the Hamas terrorists he foiled after each mission. While working for the Israelis, he developed a deep passion for Christianity.  He ultimately converted from Islam, and sought inner strength from Christ.

Once his work as a spy started to require missions that would cause the death of wanted terrorists, Yousef backed out of the job. He  believed that whether they were innocent human beings or violent Hamas members, he did not want to spend his time on Earth with blood on his hands.

Before moving to America to start a new life, Yousef experienced a small moment that had a significant impact on him. As he was walking down the street in Israel, he encountered a homeless, Jewish man. By emptying his pockets to the poor man, Yousef shared the feeling of freedom he experienced, and how he could not help but from that point forward to “love everyone, and love them unconditionally.”

Even though Mosab Hassan Yousef lost all connection with his family after the publishing of his book, he still finds strength and love on a broader scale. He concluded the night with an answer to the last question, posed by a middle-aged Jewish woman, “Maybe I don’t have my biological family by me, but humanity is my family. You are my family.”