'Israeli first,' Arab-Israeli influencer says his identity changed following Hamas' attack

Nuseir Yasin, an Arab-Israeli vlogger known as Nas Daily wrote a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday saying that the Hamas attack on Israel had changed how he saw himself.

Previously, Yasin, who has more than 21 million followers on Facebook, had seen himself as a Palestinian Israeli.

“For the longest time, I struggled with my identity. A Palestinian kid born inside Israel… Many of my friends refuse to this day to say the word ‘Israel’ and call themselves ‘Palestinian’ only. But since I was 12, that did not make sense to me. So I decided to mix the two and become a ‘Palestinian-Israeli’ I thought this term reflected who I was. Palestinian first. Israeli second,” Yasin wrote.

The heinous attack on Israel by Hamas, however, changed his mind and Yasin now sees himself as an Israeli Palestinian. Moreover, he would never want to live in a place called “Palestine” under a Palestinian government, as he would not feel safe.

“After recent events, I started to think… And then my thoughts turned to anger. I realized that if Israel were to be ‘invaded’ like that again, we would not be safe. To a terrorist invading Israel, all citizens are targets. 900 Israelis died so far. More than 40 of them are Arabs. Killed by other Arabs. And even 2 Thai people died too. And I do not want to live under a Palestinian government,” Yasin declared.

This led him to the realization that he only has one home: Israel.

“Which means I only have one home, even if I’m not Jewish: Israel. That’s where all my family lives. That’s where I grew up. That’s the country I want to see continue to exist so I can exist. Palestine should exist, too, as an independent state. And I hope to see the country thrive and become less extreme and more prosperous. I love Palestine and have invested in Palestine. But it’s not my home. So from today forward, I view myself as an ‘Israeli-Palestinian.’ Israeli first. Palestinian second. Sometimes it takes a shock like this to see so clearly.”

Many Israelis commented on Yasin's X post, commending him for his courage and letting him know they are proud of him.

“Israel’s lucky to have citizens like you. It’s our duty to defend Israel’s democratic character and ensure that it’s every bit as much your nation as it is a jewish persons! We have work to do but your words are really powerful and set an example,” wrote Emily Schrader, a journalist in Israel.

In 2020, Yasin was targeted by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, which called for a boycott of his vlogger training program, which featured Israelis among the staff and instructors.

The BDS movement reportedly wanted to sanction Yasin over what they saw as the program’s “normalization agenda.”

The program was funded by the United Arab Emirates, which normalized diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020 when it signed the historic Abraham Accords peace agreement, facilitated by the U.S. Trump administration.