AS a Jewish person whose grandparents fled pogroms and antisemitism, and as a member of Jews 4 Palestine-Ireland, I write this letter in a state of shock at recent events in the West Bank.

Sunday, 26th February 2023, 300 Israeli settlers rampaged through the Palestinian villages of Huwara, Zatara, and Burin, killing one Palestinian, and injuring 350 others; not to mention destroying Palestinian homes, vehicles and olive trees. 

All this under the protection of the Israeli army, who prevented ambulances/medics from treating the injured. Meanwhile, settlers were so confident, they took selfies, singing, dancing and celebrating their violence and destruction. 

This is nothing new. Settler violence is a daily occurrence for indigenous Palestinians in the area. Over 700,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in the West Bank/East Jerusalem, and their seizure of land, violence and destruction is routinely encouraged and protected by Israeli ministers such as Bezalel Smotrich, who called for Huwara to be ‘wiped out’.

The attack has been likened to Kristallnacht – the Huwara pogrom.  According to Richard Falk, this not only “qualifies as a war crime but confirms the pervasive genocidal settler aura, now made vivid” (Richard Falk 27.2.23).

As I write this, 2023 has been a deadly year – 67 Palestinians, including 13 children, and 13 Israelis have already been killed. But as we mourn the tragic loss of life, we must renew our commitment to justice, equality, freedom and dignity for all people, with no exceptions.

Let us be clear, this is not a conflict or cycle of violence between two equal parties – this is a military power terrorising an occupied people. The Israeli government’s domination and oppression of Palestinians is the root cause of each tragic death.

This has nothing to do with Judaism, Jewish tradition or history – it is Zionism, a modern political movement hell-bent on erasing Palestinian memories, identities and connections to their own land, all the while brazenly pretending to be the single legitimate political movement of the Jewish diaspora. 

This is what Apartheid Israel has become:

Huwara - death and destruction.
Nablus – 11 shot dead. 
Masafer Yatta – 1,300 indigenous Palestinians expelled from their land to facilitate an IDF firing zone.

As Jewish people, we cannot sit idly while these atrocities occur. 

All Jewish people who believe in justice should support Palestinians’ calls for freedom and justice. 

Sue Pentel,
Norfolk Drive,
Belfast

Do you have something to say on this issue? If so, submit a letter for publication to Conor McParland at c.mcparland@belfastmedia.com or write to Editor Anthony Neeson at Andersonstown News/North Belfast News, Teach Basil, 2 Hannahstown Hill, Belfast BT17 0LT