Photo: Settler violence in Masafer Yatta – Palestine Return Centre
Our two speakers spoke powerfully as they provided many examples of how settlers, with full governmental support behind them, feel totally emboldened to violently terrorize the Palestinian population.
Last year, 69 settler outposts were established where in previous years that average was for between five to seven new outposts to be approved in any one year.
All Palestinians living in Area C are very much at risk of settler terrorism as settlers seek their displacement for more Israeli settlement construction (which is illegal under international law). In addition, new Israeli road construction going east to west in various localities such as between Bethlehem and Hebron will further fragment the West Bank, cutting off Palestinians from one another.
Israeli courts have also moved to the right so nowadays, it is much harder to get justice from cases presented to it. Nevertheless, Rabbi Arik spoke about a case that will be heard in the Israeli High Court on 1st September because one of the shepherding communities that was pushed off their land by settlers wants to return to it.
Both Issa and Rabbi Arik spoke of the vital need for internationals to demonstrate their solidarity by being with them to provide protective presence.
The webinar ended with a plea to push our government to not run scared of Trump but to step up to the plate to do what has to be done to stop this violence, this terror, this re-drawing of the maps and eliminating what is left of Palestinian living space.
Speakers
Issa Amro lives in Hebron, in the H2 area which is under military control and where extreme Jewish Israeli religious settlers also reside. In 2007, Issa founded Youth Against Settlements which seeks to end the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements through non-violent popular struggle and civil resistance. Youth Against Settlements trains youth in peaceful direct actions, documents human rights violations, leads tours of Hebron and the vicinity for international delegations and offers political briefings for diplomats and journalists. As a result, Issa has been arrested and tortured by the Israeli occupation forces but prosecuted as well by the Palestinian Authority. Amnesty International and the United Nations have recognized Issa as a Human Rights Defender. Issa has been nominated, along with ICAHD’s Jeff Halper, for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian parliamentarian Ingrid Friskaa.
Rabbi Arik Ascherman is a Reform rabbi who led Rabbis for Human Rights for 21 years and since 2017, has led Torat Tzedek. Rabbi Ascherman’s niche has been to work for universal human rights as a Jewish religious obligation, and to present the foundation for this obligation in Jewish sources. Rather than remaining behind a desk, he has always believed that in the human rights field we must have one foot in the grassroots, and the other among the decision and opinion makers. Where necessary, Rabbi Ascherman is willing to put his body on the line. He has been attacked and injured by Israeli settlers and has been tried for civil disobedience. He is the recipient of several humanitarian and peace awards.