They might have won over the judges in the Israeli version of MasterChef with their delicacies, but Muzna Bishara and Nadia Owayyed, two of the contestants on the hit cooking contest, now in its seventh season, have had little luck winning over some Israeli viewers, simply because they are Arabs.
Zizo Abul Hawa, a friend of Bishara's and a reporter for international news network i24NEWS, revealed in a Facebook post on Sunday that Bishara is deeply offended by numerous hate messages she has received since appearing on the reality show.
"Muzna sent me a message a few minutes ago that said she was really upset and disgusted by the comments and hate messages she got for participating in the program," Abul Hawa wrote.
Bishara, he said, "doesn't know how to deal with this, because she feels that it greatly influences her, even though she doesn't want it to.
"It's important to clarify that Muzna didn't make political statements during the program. She primarily cooks fantastic food with great enthusiasm, but this didn't stop ignorant people from sending her messages as ugly as they themselves are."
Abul Hawa said Bishara has received "statements saying she is an 'enemy,' 'Israel-hater,' 'we let you go to university,' 'in other places you would have been in a tent' and I don't want to continue because it's truly terrible – terribly sad."
He said that Nadia Owayyed, the other Arab contestant on the show, "receives twice as many [hate messages] as she does," Abul Hawa said.
While Bishara declined to comment, Owayyed, seemed unfazed by the animosity shown by some Israeli viewers.
"I don't read the comments," she said, "but friends from the program told me about them. They wrote that 'she should say thanks they give her a stage,' 'she should go to Palestine,' 'she should go over the fence,' that I live off of social security and need to thank the state I live in.
"I'm sad that there are people of such low intelligence and I feel sorry for them," she said. "These are racist people who have no place in society. I'm shocked at the Jews – they suffered hatred in Europe but act the same way. Like a battered woman who beats [others]. These are bad elements that exist in every society, even Arab society, and should not be paid attention to.
"I live in a democratic state, so let everyone think that he wants," she continued. "They told me to take the rags off of my head, and I ask, 'And what about the Jewish women who wear a headcover?' I'm proud that I'm Muslim and in what I am. Whoever doesn't like it – that's his problem. I'm a lawyer, actually, and don't live off of social security. In addition, my parents and grandparents were here even before the establishment of the state."
Owayyed said that she has "also received a sea of praise and support. I'm a strong woman and I don't give a damn about anyone. I support coexistence and respect humanity, and I don't care about color, race and nationality. The haters can continue talking. I invite everyone attacking me to sit down with me for a cup of coffee and get to know me."
