PERSPECTIVES AN EVOLVING VIEW NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF PROMISED LAND MUSEUM FALL 2022
Punishment of Palestinian Children Ahmad Manasra was imprisoned at 13 years old in 2015 for being with his cousin, 15-year-old Hassan Manasra, who allegedly stabbed two Israeli settlers. Hassan was shot dead on site while Ahmad was severely beaten and run over by an Israeli mob, resulting in internal bleeding and fractures to his skull. The court acknowledged that Ahmad did not participate in the attacks and sentenced him to nine years in prison. Since his arrest, now-21-year-old Ahmad has suffered abuse, torture, and ten months in solitary confinement, culminating in such deterioration of his mental health that a Doctors Without Borders psychiatrist has diagnosed him with schizophrenia. Organizations like the United Nations and the European Union have called for Ahmad’s immediate release. Israeli courts denied the appeals and extended his isolation to November. Was Ahmad treated the way a Jewish child would have been treated? This issue of Perspectives seeks to uncover how practicing the Jewish value of reciprocity would be a more peaceful approach to the ongoing Israeli and Palestinian crisis. PERSPECTIVES • THE MAGAZINE OF PROMISED LAND MUSEUM 2
04 AN EVOLVING VIEW 06 ISRAEL’S MESSAGE TO PALESTINIANS AND THOSE WHO MIGHT LOVE THEM: DON’T 08 SETH MORRISON - BEING ON THE SIDE OF PEACE 10 THE POWER OF WORDS 12 IS THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES A MORAL ARMY? 14 EVOLVING VIEWS: YESTERDAY AND TODAY 15 WHAT CAN YOU DO? 16 A TIMELINE OF THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT 18 ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION INSIDE THIS ISSUE COVER IMAGE: A young Palestinian THIS PAGE: Designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine, located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, has been called Jerusalem’s most recognizable landmark. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022–23. It is now the world’s oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture. The building’s inscriptions contain the earliest epigraphic proclamations of Islam and of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
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This issue’s theme “An Evolving View” explores how Jewish opinions about the relationship between Israel and Palestine has changed in favor of supporting non-violent coexistence and the Palestinian right to return. The articles herein focus primarily on material from both Jewish and Israeli sources. Palestinian sources are also valuable for understanding Palestinian perspectives. Promised Land Museum was founded to provide a Jewish perspective and offer a more complete understanding of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. A better understanding will lead to what we all truly desire: peace for both Jewish and non-Jewish families living between the river and the sea. FALL 2022 5
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In August 2022, Israel released the “Procedure for entry and residence of foreigners in the Judea and Samaria area” to describe policies regarding foreigner’s entry into the occupied West Bank. One new policy in particular raised alarm for reporters and organizations around the world: foreigners who begin a romantic relationship with a Palestinian ID holder must report the relationship to the Israeli military within 30 days of the romance beginning. Should the couple marry, the foreigner will be required to leave the West Bank after 27 months for a “cooling-off ” period of at least six months. U.S. ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, expressed concern over the policies’ negative impact on family unity. Meanwhile, the campaign director for Avaaz noted that the policies signaled that “love is dangerous” in the West Bank. The resulting media frenzy over what has been deemed a “war on love” pushed Israel to backtrack some of these anti-Palestinian policies: foreigners will no longer be required to declare one’s love for a Palestinian to the Israeli military. Israel also removed an equally troubling policy: Palestinian universities would have only been allowed 150 student visas and 100 foreign lecturer visas, while there are no comparable limits for Israeli universities’ visa allotments. Despite rescinding these policies, Israel’s message to Palestinians and those who might love them is clear: don’t. Israel’s imposition on Palestinian’s marriages with foreigners is not new. The state has practically banned granting residency status to foreign spouses of Palestinians in the West Bank, leaving thousands to struggle without legal protections. The document still holds many troubling mandates that reach beyond the realm of love. Foreigners will no longer be allowed to work or volunteer for businesses and aid organizations in the West Bank longer than a few months. The document even reserves the right to demand a cash or bank guarantee of up to $7,000 USD from foreigners requesting entry permits. Israel captured and annexed the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East War, and the legitimacy of Israel’s administration in this region is still contested. Legal experts and human rights advocates argue that Israel’s most recent policies add to the already discriminatory treatment of Palestinians in a system many have called apartheid. These policies challenge foreigners who are seeking to work, volunteer, invest, teach, study, or love in the West Bank. The policies. The policies also affect Palestinian society, depriving Palestinians of the connection and influence of foreigners. Perhaps most importantly, separating families and loved ones on the basis of religion or residency status —an attack on a most basic human need for love and community—moves us farther from the possibility of the future where Jews and non-Jews, Palestinians and nonPalestinians, will coexist in peace and harmony. ISRAEL’S MESSAGE TO PALESTINIANS AND THOSE WHO MIGHT LOVE THEM: DON’T FALL 2022 7
Retired marketer Seth Morrison used to support and fund Zionist organizations. Now, he is an activist who boycotts them in support of the Palestinian right to return. As a liberal Jew from Long Island who grew up with a desire to help fix the world’s problems, Morrison found himself drawn to Zionist organizations like the Jewish National Fund which promised to “make the desert bloom” in the Middle East. He writes: “Some of my earliest Jewish memories involve dropping spare change in the Jewish National Fund’s iconic little blue boxes. I was proud that my money would help plant trees in Israel.” His passion for helping people continued into adulthood. While building a career in consumer marketing, Morrison volunteered his time on the Jewish National Fund’s Washington, D.C. board raising thousands of dollars for the organization. He also became a member of J Street, a Zionist nonprofit advocacy group. In 2011, Morrison publicly quit the Jewish National Fund in an op-ed for Forward, the most influential, Englishlanguage Jewish media outlet. And in 2013, he left J Street to join Jewish Voice for Peace. Why did Seth Morrison move away from Zionism in favor of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement? It was the same reason he supported Zionism in the first place: his love for the Jewish people and helping “fix what is broken in our society.” PLANTING TREES WITH THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND Searching the Jewish National Fund (JNF) on Google opens results that tug at one’s heart strings. The first result is an ad for their website’s gift shop: “Plant a Tree in Israel – Meaningful & Personalized Gift.” The second result reads: “Donate to Israel … JNF is a not-for-profit organization that gives all generations of Jews a unique voice in building a prosperous future for the land of Israel and its people.” The JNF website describes the organization as “Your Voice in Israel.” The top of the page includes a “Gaza Envelope Community Relief ” donation link. JNF’s site also features a banner advertising synagogue tours in Israel: “Come Home for a Visit … Your Synagogue Will Receive $500 Per Participant!” For liberal Jews like Seth Morrison, the JNF markets itself as an organization that supports Jews in Israel and in the United States, even in one’s own synagogue—all while showing care for the planet and humanity. Morrison shared that he was drawn to JNF as a platform for raising funds for important causes like tackling the climate crisis and generally doing good in the world. HOW THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND CONNECTS TO ETHNIC CLEANSING The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 by Theodor Herzl, known as the father of modern political Zionism (learn more here about his role in selecting which lands should be colonized to form Israel). In the early twentieth century, JNF bought and developed land in Ottoman Syria and Palestine for Jewish settlement; today, the organization owns more than 10% of the total land in Israel. Israeli historian Benny Morris reported that Joseph Weitz wrote in his diary in 1940: “There is no way besides transferring the Arabs from here to the neighboring countries. Not one village must be left, not one [Bedouin] tribe. And only after this transfer will the country be able to absorb millions of our brothers and the Jewish problem will cease to exist.” JNF was founded to ethnically cleanse Ottoman Syria and Palestine of Arabs to create space for European Jews—who, at the time, antisemitic European politicians considered as “the Jewish Problem”—to settle. Seth Morrison: Being on the Side of Peace PERSPECTIVES • THE MAGAZINE OF PROMISED LAND MUSEUM 8
It’s interesting to note the Institute for Middle East Understanding, a nonprofit organization, reported that the JNF’s “Plant a Tree” campaign hid the ruins of Arab homes and villages left behind from ethnic cleansing with forests. More than 260 million trees have been planted, covering more than 250,000 acres of land. MORRISON LEARNS OF THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND’S TRUE IMPACT Seth Morrison severed ties with JNF in 2011 after feeling “a sense of betrayal” at “learning that JNF is a force in preventing long-term peace.” Morrison first began to question JNF’s role in the conflict when he learned of the JNF evicting the Sumarin family from their home in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Israel’s “Absentee Property Law” allows the state to claim homes if the owners were not present when Israel gained control of East Jerusalem in 1967. When the homeowner Musa Sumarin died, his children were declared absentees despite family members living in the home. This allowed Israel to transfer the property to JNF, legalizing evicting the Palestinian family from their home in 1991. Rabbis for Human Rights called for American Jews to write to JNF and ask that the eviction be stopped and more than 1,300 people wrote in. However, JNF only postponed the eviction. The Sumarin family is still fighting to stay in their home: this month, the Attorney General to the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that there be no impediment to evicting the family. Morrison described how he learned that the Sumarin eviction was “not an isolated case;” in fact, JNF subsidiaries evicted many Palestinian families from their homes to gain ownership and then transferred those properties to Elad, a racist settlement association working to “Judaize” East Jerusalem. “By supporting right-wing settlers in “Judaizing” Palestinian neighborhoods, JNF makes [peace] harder to achieve,” Morrison wrote in his 2011 op-ed. JOINING JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE When he left Zionist organizations like JNF and J Street, Morrison shared with Mondoweiss that many of his friends cut him off completely. Still, he has no regrets. He joined Jewish Voice for Peace because he believes “Israel is addicted to the occupation” and the only way to save it from itself is “tough love.” Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a national, grassroots organization inspired by the Jewish tradition, describes itself as being “guided by a vision of justice, equality, and freedom for all people” and it opposes Zionism “because it is counter to those ideals.” JVP is working for “just and lasting peace according to principles of human rights, equality, and international law for all the people of Israel and Palestine.” Since leaving JNF and J Street, Morrison has also joined the JVP Board of Directors as a chapter leader and major donor fundraiser. He continues to fight for justice and to end American support for Israeli apartheid. ONE OF MANY JEWISH VOICES Increasingly, Jewish Americans are learning about Israel’s occupation and ethnic cleansing. They are beginning to realize that there was no empty desert in need of planting trees to bloom; instead, peaceful, non-Jewish families were and are being displaced from their homes. Jewish writer and scholar Stephen Zunes has been an outspoken supporter of human rights in Israel. Israeli linguist and activist Tanya Reinhart has also fought for Palestinian civil rights. HungarianCanadian physician and Holocaust survivor Gabor Maté has even described Israel as a “beautiful dream [that] has become a nightmare.” Seth Morrison remains hopeful: “What gives me a great deal of hope is that, once you know the truth, there is no going back. I can personally attest to that, and I hope others will join me on the side of peace and justice by continuing to show solidarity with the Sumarin family and all Palestinians struggling to live with dignity and freedom.” FALL 2022 9
That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is explanation; go and learn.” THE POWER OF WORDS PERSPECTIVES • THE MAGAZINE OF PROMISED LAND MUSEUM 10
NIEMÖLLER POEM “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.” -Poem by Martin Niemöller, presented at the end of the United States Holocaust Memorial Martin Niemöller (1892-1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor who is most famous for writing this poem which inspires all people to stand up for what is right. While Niemöller initially supported Hitler’s national conservatism and antisemitism, by the late 1930s he realized how Nazism contradicted the Christian virtue of charity. He spent the rest of his life fighting for peace and renouncing all forms of violent nationalism. The mass murders of the Holocaust taught the world the devastating consequences wrought when those in power use ethnicity, religion, and culture to divide people. It also showed how remaining silent in the face of evil only perpetuates evil. Niemöller adamantly regretted not standing up for justice sooner, and his poem encourages all who read it to act before it is too late. Judaism teaches what is commonly known as the Golden Rule: treat others as you would want to be treated. This ethic of reciprocity is represented in many religious teachings, from Confucianism to Islam. Imam Al-Nawawi’s hadiths say: “None of you believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.” Israel mandates Jewish families to return to their ancestral homes, but this return has violently expelled Palestinians from their lands and forced 1.5 million people to survive in refugee camps. The Talmud teaches that if Jews seek to return home, then they must also allow Palestinians to return home. Israel encourages Jewish families to return to their ancestral homes but denies this right to Palestinian refugee families, who were violently expelled from their homes and villages just a generation ago. The Golden Rule, ingrained in Talmudic teaching, suggests that if Jews have the right to return home, surely Palestinian families do as well. Considering the shared belief in the Golden Rule, it must be possible for Jewish and non-Jewish families to co-exist peacefully, as they used to in the Holy Land and as they still do in many places. FALL 2022 11
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) website describes its official doctrine of ethics, “The Spirit of the IDF,” as the army’s moral compass, which includes their three core values: The defense of the state, its citizens, and residents; Patriotism and loyalty to the state; And human dignity regardless of race, faith, nationality, gender, or status. While the Israel Defense Force’s stated ethos implies that it is a moral army, their actions offer contradictory evidence. The International Criminal Court has found that Israel commits war crimes against civilians using the power of its army. Haaretz and other reputable news sources have reported that the IDF does not intervene and even destroys evidence when Israeli settlers attack Palestinian civilians. The following two cases of violence against civilians highlight how the IDF’s actions contradict its doctrine of ethics. IDF SOLDIERS DESTROY VIDEO EVIDENCE OF EXECUTION In April 2019, 23-year-old Palestinian Muhammad ‘Abd Al Fatah stoned several Israeli-registered cars. Jewish settler Yehoshua Sherman fired his gun at ‘Abd Al Fatah from his vehicle. When unarmed ‘Abd Al Fatah took cover, Sherman and another Israeli moved closer to him and continued firing, first wounding him and then killing him as he lay on the ground bleeding. Mondoweiss reported that IDF soldiers reacted to this murder by raiding two nearby businesses, confiscating their security cameras, and deleting footage of the crime. Meanwhile, the Israeli media falsely reported the murder as self-defense against a knife attack. “The Spirit of the IDF” claims to value human dignity regardless of nationality or religion. Would a moral army cover up the circumstances of the killing. CHILDREN HURT WHEN SOLDIERS HIDE EXPLOSIVES In August of 2020, on a Thursday afternoon, a sevenyear-old boy was walking in the village with his family when he spotted an orange box covered in wires. “I wanted to pick it up and play with it,” he later told reporters. His relative picked up the box and shook it to inspect it, and the box exploded, wounding his face and hand. Haaretz reported that the young Palestinian child had found one of many boxes of explosives and stun grenades planted by the IDF on open lands and hidden under stones, cloths, and weapons crates. The IDF claims it planted these boxes as a deterrence in areas “in which violent riots have regularly occurred for years.” The boy and his family found three of these boxes along his village road. A relative said, “People live there, and children wander around. It’s lucky nothing worse happened.” The IDF reportedly planted explosives in a residential area to deter protests. Would a moral army expose civilians to such danger? IS THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES A MORAL ARMY? PERSPECTIVES • THE MAGAZINE OF PROMISED LAND MUSEUM 12
ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: A MORAL ARMY OR AN ARMED GANG? B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, commented on the IDF planting explosives: “This is how armed gangs operate, not a regular army. But the action reflects the spirit of the army’s commanders and the government, both of which send the message that Palestinian lives and limbs are fair game.” Human rights organization Amnesty International made a public statement in May 2022 which declared that “Israeli authorities must end unlawful killings, willful injury, arbitrary arrests, torture, and other ill-treatment, persecution and collective punishment against Palestinians.” Do these actions support an ethics of “universal moral values”? ISRAELI VETERANS BREAK THE SILENCE Israeli soldiers are speaking out against the injustice military policies and actions they witnessed and enforced, including abuse toward Palestinians and the looting and destruction of property. Breaking the Silence, an organization of veteran soldiers who served in the Israeli military, have collected the testimonies of over 1,000 soldiers since 2004 who served in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem with the intention of exposing the public to the grim daily realities of the occupation. One testimony from a Major in the Artillery Corps around 2015 referenced the way the Israeli educational system teaches students that Palestinians are enemies and should be feared. The soldier says: “I think that the argument about the most moral army in the world is a fig leaf, hiding what’s really happening.” For example, the soldier describes the way a soldier will receive more punishment for eating lunch without notifying the army than a soldier who beats a Palestinian at a check point. CAN YOU BE THE MORAL SOLDIER? Joel Carmel was raised in London, but his passion for defending Israel led him to join the IDF at 18 and become second lieutenant. He described growing up in a Zionist community that believed everyone was against the Jewish people of Israel, and it was his duty to defend Israel at all costs. “I wanted to be the moral soldier. I believed I could be that soldier who gives the Palestinians good service — service with a smile,” he said. “Later I realized you could be as smiley as you like. You could give Palestinian children sweets, but ultimately, you control their lives with military power.” His experience in the IDF exposed him to the daily abuses toward Palestinians, from the trampling of sacred holy sites to the firing of rubber bullets and live ammunition at unarmed civilians. Carmel added: “We are punishing people who haven’t done anything. Yes, there is terror, and some people are very threatening to us. But the occupation is a system of constant violence.” A RESPONSE TO “THE MOST MORAL ARMY” In 2018, the former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post Jeff Barak published a response to the Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman’s statement that the IDF is “the most moral army in the world” calling for IDF sympathizers to get a reality check. “Why is ‘the most moral army in the world’ automatically resorting to the use of live ammunition against unarmed demonstrators to quell such protests?” he asked, referencing the hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators wounded by live fire over less than one month. “We should show the maturity to honestly examine ourselves in the mirror.” FALL 2022 13
Charlton Heston was famous for having gone from being an avid supporter of the civil rights movement of the 1960s to being president of the National Rifle Association. He felt he hadn’t changed. In this issue of Perspectives, we focus on how people’s views of Israel have and continue to evolve. People who were among the strongest supporters of Israel—suddenly or slowly—come to speak out for peace, justice, and equality for Palestinian families too. One older Jewish woman, a lifelong supporter of Israel, told me that her views of Israel changed suddenly when she saw American Rachel Corrie killed while trying to protect a Palestinian family’s home from being bulldozed. Like Heston, those whose views of Israel have evolved may not have changed much at all. They start as avid supporters of Israel because they are committed to peace, justice, and equality for all people and because they want to make the world better. They become supporters of peace, justice, and equality for Palestinians, too, for the very same reasons. My understanding of Israel and Palestine changed during a trip to visit my Israeli relatives. Having seen so many places where we made the land bloom, I wondered how it was that 700,000 Palestinian men, women, and children became refugees if the land had been empty swamps and deserts. Pulling on that thread took me on a journey to a new understanding. My commitment to Jewish values remained unchanged, but my support for treating Palestinians violently ended. I remain hopeful, because I fervently believe we are all committed to peace, justice, and equality. Evolving Views: Yesterday and Today DR. STEVEN FELDMAN is a U.S.-based dermatologist and Curator of the Jewish Museum of the Palestinian Experience. Hope Is What We Do… PERSPECTIVES • THE MAGAZINE OF PROMISED LAND MUSEUM 14
BE KNOWLEDGEABLE, SHARE THIS INFORMATION, AND CONSIDER HOSTING AN EXHIBIT. THE PROMISED LAND MUSEUM TRAVELING EXHIBIT IS A SIMPLE WAY TO BRING AWARENESS TO THE ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT AND THE PALESTINIAN QUEST FOR NATIONHOOD. WHAT CAN 6 REASONS TO CONSIDER HOSTING AN EXHIBIT 1 Give your community a better understanding of the Holy Land. 2 Support peace and justice by fostering awareness of the common humanity of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish families living in Israel and Palestine. 3 Attract people to your facility with an interesting, novel, moving, educational exhibit. 4 It could be a great way to raise funds for your church or civic organization. 5 It’s FREE! Voices for Justice in Palestine pays for shipping and promotion. 6 You can also invite museum curator, Steve Feldman, to speak at your event—either in person or virtually. YOU DO? FALL 2022 15
A Timeline of the IsraeliPalestinian Conflict July 2021-September 2022 August 2 Israeli forces kill a 17-year-old teenager and arrest a senior Islamic Jihad leading during an occupied West Bank raid. August 5 Israel launched air raids on Gaza over 3 days: 17 children were killed among the 49 Palestinians dead and many more injured. August 6 UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said there is “no justification” for Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. August 17 Israeli forces raised the West Bank homes of 21 families to arrest individuals suspected of terrorist activity. August 18 Israeli security forces closed down 7 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the West Bank, declaring that they were arms of the PFLP terrorist organization. European Union Ambassador to Israel and 19 other diplomats demanded answers, stating that they had not received any evidence to substantiate Israel’s claims. August 18 Imam Yusuf Muhammad Elbaz of Israeli city Lod suspended his hunger strike after Shin Bet assures his release. Elbaz was arrested under accusations of inciting violence via Facebook. August 7 Israeli forces kill 5 Palestinian children from Jabalya during Operation Breaking Dawn airstrikes. August 9 IDF killed alleged terrorist Ibrahim Nabulsi in standoff operation; 30 Palestinians were wounded and 1 Israeli trained dog was killed. August 14 Israeli forces shot and killed a 21-one-year-old Palestinian in his home during a military raid in East Jerusalem. August 19 Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during an early morning raid in the West Bank; forces also arrested 5 Palestinians suspected of terrorism. July 3 US Presbyterian Church voted to declare Israel an apartheid state and establish a Nakba Remembrance Day. July 3 North Carolina Democratic Party accused Israel of apartheid. July 3 Israeli forces shot and killed 17-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank during clashes. July 4 Israeli forces arrested thirteen individuals overnight in the West Bank on suspicion of terrorist activity. July 4 Five Palestinians injured during IDF raid in Dura; Israeli forces dog was held hostage and released. July 5 Israeli forces killed 22-year-old Palestinian in the town of Jaba’ during a military raid. July 17 Greek Orthodox Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilos III warned of extremist Jewish forces targeting the Christian quarter and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to threaten Christian presence in the city. July 25 Israeli forces arrested 7 Palestinians in the West Bank under suspicion of terrorist involvement. July 29 The Palestinian Authority arrested at least 94 Palestinians, including university students and journalists, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank over the last 2 months for political activism. July 29 During a Palestinian protest against settler violence in Ramallah, a 16-year-old Palestinian was shot dead. Both the army and Jewish settlers were shooting live rounds at the protestors, and it is unclear which of the two groups killed the youth. July 30 After years of censorship, the IDF publicized its use of armed drones to strike targets. July 18 US President Joe Biden announced his support of a 2-state resolution based on pre-1967 lines with mutual land swaps. July 20 Thousands of right-wing Israeli activists set up encampments in 6 West Bank locations to demand that the government authorize them as new settlements. Note: This timeline highlights some events and does not account for the many daily stresses and injustices occurring in people’s lives. A Timeline of the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict July 2022-September 2022 16 PERSPECTIVES • THE MAGAZINE OF PROMISED LAND MUSEUM
September 1-29 Israeli security forces arrested 31 Palestinians, killed 9 adults and 2 youths, and injured 42 others in the West Bank in its ongoing Operation Break the Wave to manage Palestinians suspected of terrorism. September 20 Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces arrested Hamas commander Musab Shtayyeh and shot dead 53-year-old Firas Yaish. Hundreds protested and rioted, and the PA responded with gunfire and tear gas. September 2 Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in response to an alleged stabbing attack; Israeli forces threw sound bombs and tear gas canisters at those who sought to help the fallen man. September 20 Palestinian Authority arrested 2 Palestinian rioters in Nablus and warned Palestinians not to be exploited “by conspirators against our national project.” September 5 Israeli military investigation found that it was highly possible an Israeli soldier “accidentally” shot and killed Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. September 21 Accidental explosion at Islamic Jihadist militant site in the Gaza Strip injured 2 Palestinians. September 7 3 Palestinian civilians were injured while collecting aluminum and copper in the Gaza Strip after a “suspicious object” exploded. September 29 Israel’s Central Election Committee voted to ban Arab-Israeli Balad party from running in the upcoming election; it is expected this vote will be overturned in the High Court of Justice. September 14 2 Palestinian gunmen were wounded and 1 IDF officer was killed in an exchange of fire north of Jenin. September 29 Israeli court extends the detention of hunger striking Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawdeh again after promising his release. September 18 Hundreds of Palestinian schools went on strike to protest Israeli censorship of imposed textbooks. September 29 IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi approved the use of armed drones in the West Bank to carry out targeted killings of Palestinians accused of terrorism. September 5 Israel extends the detention of FrenchPalestinian human rights lawyer Salah Hammouri held without trial on “secret charges” since March. His 6-months pregnant wife, Elsa Lefort, was detained for 3 days, deported back to France, and received a 10-year ban despite having valid visas. September 23 Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gave an address to United Nations General Assembly, demanding Israel withdraw from Palestinian territories it occupied in 1967. September 6 IDF demolished the Jenin home of accused Palestinian. Human rights groups criticize this tactic of collective punishment. Residents responded to the demolition by throwing stones and directing gunfire toward Israeli troops; a 29-year-old Palestinian man was killed, and a 16-year-old Palestinian was wounded. September 25 30 Palestinian administrative prisoners held in Israeli jails without charge or trial launch a hunger strike. September 7 Israeli forces killed a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager in Ramallah at a military checkpoint. The army claimed the youth attacked an Israeli soldier with a hammer. September 26 Hundreds of Jews entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound while Israeli police attacked Palestinians gathered in the compound with batons, injuring at least 3 and arresting 10 others. September 20 King Abdullah of Jordan addressed the United Nations General Assembly, stating that “the rights of churches in Jerusalem are threatened” and calling for the protection of Christian people’s rights. September 29 A 7-year-old Palestinian boy dies from fear after Israeli forces chased him and his brothers and threatened to arrest them on their way home from school. August 21 Tens of thousands of Palestinians employed in Israel protested the decision to pay their salaries into bank accounts rather than cash with a oneday strike; workers fear hidden fees and taxes, as well as the future of Palestinian Authority banks. August 22 Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantz stated Jerusalem belongs to Israel, and Palestinians cannot also claim Jerusalem. Gantz also spoke about preventing the creation of a binational state. August 23 Israeli forces arrested 18 West Bank individuals suspected of terrorist activity. August 25 A Palestinian mother endures a hunger strike for her son, who had been held by the Palestinian Authority without charge or trial for over 80 days. August 26 Israel’s State Prosecutor closed the case of an Israeli settler who stabbed a Palestinian man to death in the occupied West Bank in June 2022. August 28 IDF, Shin Bet, and Israel Border Police arrested 4 people in the West Bank on charges of suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities. August 30 5 Israeli civilians illegally entered Joseph’s Tomb, and Palestinian gunmen opened fire, injuring two. August 31 Palestinian detainee Khalil Awawdeh agreed to suspend his 181-day hunger strike after receiving Israel’s written agreement of his release on October 2. Awawdeh was arrested on December 27, 2021 for an administrative detention without trial or knowing the charges against him. Israel holds 743 Palestinian administrative detainees. 17 FALL 2022
ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION This magazine has been developed by the Promised Land Museum, a project of Voices for Justice in Palestine. The Promised Land Museum was founded to provide a Jewish Perspective on the Israel/Palestine conflict. This perspective is rooted in Jewish values, to treat our neighbor as we would want to be treated. The mission of Voices for Justice in Palestine is to work for a just and sustainable peace in Israel-Palestine. We educate the public, advocate for change based on equal rights, and directly support peace builders in Israel-Palestine. If you are interested in contributing to a future issue, visit us on social media or contact us via email at voicesforjusticeinpalestine@gmail.com. Rethinking the Israeli/Palestinian Relationship… PERSPECTIVES • THE MAGAZINE OF PROMISED LAND MUSEUM 18
For more information or to share this message of peace with your community, contact Voices for Justice in Palestine, PO Box 2081, Chapel Hill, NC 27515. voicesforjusticeinpalestine@gmail.com @Promised Land @promisedlandmuseum @LandMuseum @PromisedLand PromisedLandMuseum.org
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