I apologize for the length of this post. It was a complicated and challenging day and requires a lot of explanation

Today I had the chance to visit a few Bedouin villages outside of Ramallah. Like many of you, I have read and heard about the problem of ‘settler violence’ but without much context or understanding. It seemed like a problem but something that didn’t happen often and was being done by a few groups without too much of an impact.

I learned today that is entirely false and a lie we have been fed. We started the day by going to the town of Mukhmas, southeast of Ramallah in area B. Mukhmas has beautiful homes and it’s a beautiful town made up almost entirely by Palestinian expats who use it as a second home for the summer. This meant the town was empty today.

We went to the edge of town where we met our guide for this part along with many members of the Bedouins who live just outside Mukhmas. We were warned that the settlers may show up when we were there and if they did, not to engage and to get into the jeeps and leave immediately. It wasn’t what I wanted to do if they showed up but I agreed anyway.

We jumped into jeeps to take the windy, rocky road to the top of the mountain. At the top, we looked out over two Bedouin villages. They pointed out the six new, small settlement that popped up and who have been terrorizing them.

Then Muhammad spoke to us about his village and what happened. He told us how the settlers started by letting their sheep run through the village to create havoc and damage. The next step was the sheep running through the village while the settlers lit houses and cars on fire. After they did that, the village called the police. The station is about 7 minutes away. 30 minutes later they showed up, with the settlers being gone. On the road in, the police drove by the convoy of settlers but said they didn’t see them and there was nothing they could do. A month later, another massive attack happened. 10-15 days after that, another attack, this time with more than 50 settlers. This means others were imported to participate. During this attack, 4 houses were burned down, 2 cars were burned and the police didn’t respond promptly and when they did, they said there was nothing they could do. The community decided they could no longer stay and disbanded. 22 families from 2 tribes were forced out of their homes because the army and the police are choosing to allow the violence and not arresting anybody. Planned violence won. I looked out at the empty village below and only saw lost dreams and heartache. I thought of the pogroms my family faced as the were forced across Europe before finally boarding whatever boat showed up next and the randomness of the boat that ended with me in America instead of Argentina by family lore. This isn’t my family but it was my family’s story.

Then we heard from Yusuf. His village, right nearby, was 13,000 dunams (1 Dunam is 1,000 square meters), they had 1500 people living in the village, and produced 60 tons of olive oil per year, the main financial business of the village. They also raise sheep. The settlers have slowly confiscated most of their land. They face 4-5 attacks most days. They don’t have weapons but the settlers do. In the worst attack, one person was murdered, four others were shot, and 350 of their sheep were stolen by the settlers. Once again, the police and IDF did nothing to help but they did attack the villagers with tear gas. The person murdered was Yusuf’s cousin, right in front of him.

Our guide shared the next thing that happened is that the village and surrounding are got classified as a military zone. This means no observers allowed. Only residents. And the settlers are considered residents. The terror continues even worse under these conditions. The NGO who observe and help them sued and the case went to the Supreme Court where they won – it was not a real military zone so it was removed. But nothing changed in regards to the attacks or the lack of protection by the police, the IDF or the legal system.

They now face extra security costs they can’t afford. Sound like something Jews face in the US and Europe? People try to kill is because of who we are?

And what about the police and the army? Do we believe in the rule of law? Isn’t the Torah filled with laws? Are we people of the book, of laws? Imagine attacks on any of our Jewish organizations where the police didn’t show up promptly and allowed the attack to continue. Would we allow that?

We were heartbroken with what we heard and saw. We left and began to head to our next stop when a text came in, letting us know that as soon as we left, the settlers showed up, trying to terrorize the Bedouins.

We were all a bit shaken but continued on to our next stop, the Bedouin village of Dar Abu Farja, east of Ramallah.

We arrived at Dar Abu Farja and discovered an old school Bedouin village. Not the fake ones that tourists go to – a real one where they face real challenges.

The town leader greeted us with a few other leaders and a lot of children. They were happy to see us and to share their story.

They finally settled in their village in 1970 and bought the land. They were a small village of 12 when they began. They lived there happily, raising sheep and growing olives and grew to 120 people. Since they live in area C, under the control of the IDF, no basic services are provided. If they had been in area B and under the PA for civil society, they would have been provided. Every other week, a mobile medical clinic would come to provide services. It was a life they enjoyed. In September 2022, the settlers arrived and began harassing them and stealing their sheep. The police and IDF did nothing to protect them. A few years ago, they sold most of the sheep to stop them from getting stolen. Their Olive trees have been destroyed by the settlers. They no longer have an economy. They can’t go out of the village to work because they take shifts to protect the village.

I went to use the public bathroom and discovered it was a hole in the ground – an old school Bedouin village. I washed my hands and returned in time to hear him talk about the water dispute. The settlers camp near the water line and cut it. The village sued and won – the settlers were required to move away from the water line and not interfere with it. However, once again, there is no enforcement. As a result, the village has been without water for a month. I live in Florida and due to hurricanes have been without water in my house for a few days. It’s miserable and we don’t stay in the house. I can’t imagine a month without it. I felt guilty for washing my hands after the bathroom and then began to wonder – no water for a month – how is there water to wash your hands. So I asked.

An NGO brings them 4 trucks of water each week and they have to ration it. Without this water they couldn’t survive and would have to move.

Despite their water shortage they continue to offer us coffee and tea. Despite the Israeli government not enforcing the law, they treated us kindly and welcomed us. It so easily could have been the opposite. In fact much of the commentary by the talking heads around the world is how these people are being filled with hatred. My experience was just the opposite. They want to live in peace. They want to live on their land, raise sheep and grow olives, and build their families where they live. It sounds exactly like what we ask the world as Jews. Just let us live. Don’t terrorize us. Don’t hate us. We don’t want to conquer, we just want to live our lives and be happy.

As we walked out of the village, we saw the settlers across the street. We saw the tents the Bedouins live in. And we saw the marks on the ground at the edge of the village where the settlers had camped, brought their sheep, and cooked something, all to intimidate the members of the village.

As we drove to meet with the leaders of Taybeh, a mainly Christian town in the West Bank, we got a call that the IDF showed up at Dar Abu Farja after we left, asking questions about who we were, why we were there, and what was our purpose in being there. The police then showed up as well and they were interrogating our guide for these Bedouin villages and his team. The Rozana CEO left us to go back to the village to deal with the IDF and the police. We didn’t know if anybody, or all of us, would be arrested.

It turns out that what we learned a few hours earlier about declaring these villages ‘military zones’ to protect the settlers had happened to Dar Abu Farja but nobody informed the village leadership or those who work with the village. We got a first hand experience with what this looks like and what it feels like. There is no military reason for this village to classified as they have. The only reason is to protect the settlers and push the Bedouins out. I am a big supporter of the IDF and have many friends serving in miluim (reserves) and many in leadership roles. I love Israel and the Israeli people. I come often and wish it was even more. Learning about this, talking with those affected, and then experiencing it personally is heartbreaking.

When we arrived at Taybeh, we were welcomed heartily by the leadership of the town. They once again had coffee, food, and then tea for us. The leadership was glad we came. He then began to tell us what has happened in Taybeh. A town of 15,000 now only has 2,000 residents. This is a tourist town for Christians as it is believed that Jesus visited the town. Since October 7 they lost almost all tourism, their largest revenue. Imagine Orlando or Las Vegas losing all their tourism and what the economic impact would be. That’s what happened in Taybeh. Then the army confiscated land where 90% of their olive trees are located. Olive oil, their 2nd largest part of the economy, has been decimated. The 2,000 residents that remain can only do so because of family financial support from abroad. Their more local government is close to collapsing because of no economy and no jobs.

Two gates were added at the town which makes travel much more difficult. The gates are closed at random times and often for no reason. As a result of this, working outside the village is very difficult. One of the town leaders was a school principal in Ramallah. He had to resign due to the challenge of getting to and from Ramallah each day and has been unemployed ever since.

Once again, these people who had very reason to hate Israel. They don’t. They hate what is happening and what the government is doing, but all they want to do is live in their town, have jobs, and raise their children. They were warm, welcoming, and kind.

We finished our visits by going for lunch at the famous Taybeh Brewing Company (in full disclosure I had never heard of it before).

This is a local, private business that is known throughout the country as having the best beer. It’s famous. They work with local women to support them and our lunch was homemade by local women. we sat outside, ate, and enjoyed the experience.

After lunch we got a tour of the brewery. It was incredibly impressive. Since October 7th and the reduced tourism, they chose to expand their capacity. They ship to many countries (you can see if it’s available where you live here). They also now make wine, gin and whiskey. Plus they make their own Olive Oil. I purchased a bottle of wine for my father-in-law, a bottle of whiskey for one of my closest friends, and olive oil for our home.

Historically they have an entire weekend of Octoberfest. Children’s events, live music, and celebrations. People fill the hotels and travel from all over. Since October 7th they haven’t been able to hold it. They are hopeful for 2027. A wonderful cultural event bringing people together lost by the town. I hope they are able to hold it in 2027

As we left Taybeh and headed toward Tel Aviv, we came upon a checkpoint. Our guide and his team were a few cars ahead of us. They were stopped, made to get out of their car, all their bags were searched and they were interrogated. They were clearly targeted. The checkpoint backed up. Luckily they were finally allowed through. When we got to the checkpoint, we were boarded by two IDF soldiers, questioned and made to show our passports. This wasn’t normal security and we felt targeted at well. As we cleared the checkpoint the guards relaxed their security and cars drove through in the normal manner.

THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

This was a challenging day. I love Israel. Those who know me know just how passionate I am about Israel and how I am constantly working to educate people about what is really happening, not the lies told on social media, by podcasters or in the news. Today showed me a reality that I cannot defend. I think of the things that happened and are happening to Jews and how we fight against it and how we get angry when we don’t have government support for our safety and security.

We see shootings at Jewish buildings, cars driving into synagogues, beatings in the street and get furious when we aren’t protected. Imagine houses owned by Jews in your neighborhood being burned. Your car being burned. The water cut off at your home for a month because you are Jewish. We have seen Jews murdered walking outside a Jewish event. Multiply that by 10 or more.

Now that I have seen what is really happening, experienced a bit of it personally and met and heard from those impacted, I can’t stand by. Israel is better than this. In the Israeli Declaration of Independence it reads

We are violating our own Declaration of Independence in an egregious manner. I love Israel and because of that I have to share what I saw and what I felt. This must end. It’s not who we are as a Jewish State and it is not what Israel was founded on. We need to demand better. Israel can and should do better.

** If you are interested in helping provide water to Dar Abu Farja, please contact me. $350 provides a week’s worth of water to this Bedouin community until they can get the water turned back on.