Imad Hirbawi, who risked his life to save dozens of students at the Ohr Chaya seminary when a fire broke out in their Jerusalem dorm in December 2024, received Israeli citizenship earlier this week at the Interior Ministry. Hirwabi, a 35-year-old Arab from East Jerusalem, had just arrived at the building that morning for his construction job on the upper floors, which were being renovated, when the fire broke out. “I heard an explosion,” Hirbawi told Yisrael Hayom. “I understood something happened. I went down to the lower floors and saw the building on fire. I ran down to help in any way I could. The fire was in the hallway and not in the rooms themselves. I opened the doors, I shouted ‘Get out, there’s a fire.'” “I think I saw about 40 girls go down,” he added.
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