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
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