Dor Shachar grew up in the Gaza Strip, as part of a Muslim family of five. He recalls being told in school at the tender age of seven that he is required to kill Jews, as it is a revered commandment in his religion. Displeased, Shachar ran away from home at 12-and-a-half and spent time living in Israel, away from his family. In an interview held with The Epoch Times in Israel, Shachar reminisced about this period of his life. He revealed that while growing up in Gaza Strip, it became common knowledge among his peers and adults that it’s part of their religious duty to kill Jews as they believe Jews had taken over their land. Even though Shachar challenged these ideas, he later found that his own father supported the killing of Jews and had worked in Israel for nearly 27 years.
Shachar told the interviewer that the beliefs were deeply instilled in him by teachers who would teach them in school that it was mandatory to kill Jews. He had also been influenced by the negative conceptions they were made to believe about Jews – he had been taught that Jews were once Muslims but later turned into Jewish infidels. As a consequence, he began living on construction sites in Israel, where he worked as a security personnel. During this time, Shachar met a Jewish man who showed him kindness even though he was not related to him, which eventually led the former to develop a keen interest in the Jewish religion. After deciding he wanted to convert, Shachar reached out to Rabbi Avior Hai but was told he had to wait until he was 18 before they could make it official.