JEWS for Palestine – Ireland are a diverse group of Jewish people living in Ireland who support the struggle for freedom and justice in Palestine.

We welcome the International Jewish Collective for Justice in Palestine's statement condemning Israel's latest assault on the Jenin Refugee Camp which is part of an ongoing pattern of dispossession, land theft and bantustanisation against the Palestinian people. 

We also note the support which the Israeli government and the Israeli military consistently lend to armed militias of Israeli settlers which commit pogroms in Palestinian villages, sowing death and destruction with the aim of ethnically cleansing the Palestinian people. In the face of the aforementioned war crimes and severe violations of international law, we loudly declare – “Not in Our Name!”

Israel’s appalling assault on the Jenin Refugee Camp on 3-4 July, 2023 is part of an ongoing pattern of dispossession, land theft and bantustanisation against the Palestinian people. Israel’s apartheid, recognised as such by B’tselem, Amnesty international and Human Rights Watch, makes Palestinian lives unbearable.

The wanton loss of life and high levels of injuries are rightly well reported in our own countries but we want also to draw attention to other impacts. We understand that 80 per cent of the buildings in the camp have been badly damaged or in many cases, completely destroyed. Thousands of people were forced out of the camp, often holding on only to their children’s hands or the handles of older people’s wheelchairs.

The Al Tafawk Children’s Centre, serving some 150 of Jenin’s very poorest children in this poverty-stricken community, was wrecked by the Israeli army. During its attack, the Israeli army smashed walls, floors and windows, and trashed the building contents, including such well-known weapons of war as textbooks, packaged food, children’s clothes, furniture, story books, art materials, first aid kits, and toys. Are we supposed to believe that these children are also “terrorists”?

The inhabitants of the camp have been refugees since the creation of the Israeli state, many fleeing from Haifa and nearby villages. Since 1967, they have been living under a brutal Israeli military occupation, in great poverty, reliant on UNRWA for their basic needs.

People living under occupation have the right, enshrined in international law, to resist the violence that the occupier perpetrates against them. Israel is a strong military power, and the Palestinians have no army, navy or air force. Yet the Israeli government and its supporters want us to accept their claim that even attacks on Israeli occupation forces are “terror".

We call on all civil society groups to stand for justice for the Palestinian people and to demand that their governments call for expedited legal action against Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid in international tribunals, including the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Furthermore, we encourage concerned citizens all over the world to stand up for Palestinian rights. In particular we reject the libellous antisemitism allegations against those throughout the world who support Palestinian civil society’s peaceful and democratic call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against complicit Israeli institutions and international companies.

We condemn the UK government’s attempt to prevent public bodies from boycotting perpetrators of war crimes and human rights violations, such as the State of Israel. We also condemn anti-BDS legislation by various US states, and Germany’s shutting down of those who stand for justice for Palestinians.

The Israeli regime needs to be put on notice that the world is watching, and that they cannot continue to operate with impunity. We also call on Jewish and other organisations to speak up, because silence is complicity.

Sue Pentel,

Jews for Palestine – Ireland

Jews for Palestine – Ireland is part of the International Jewish Collective for Justice in Palestine (IJCJP)

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