Religious Jewish activists stage circus for children in Ar-Rihiya, West Bank, Palestinian Territories

Among Israelis who take part in “protective presence,” a practice meant to shield West Bank Palestinians from settler attacks, members of the leftist religious group Bnei Avraham stand out. Its name is Hebrew for “children of Abraham.” One member said the group is motivated in part to display “another face of Judaism.” Its members are religiously observant Jews who travel to the West Bank to protect Palestinian farmers from armed attacks and intimidation by Israeli settlers. Because they are observant, they are relative outliers among the several left-wing Jewish groups that engage in this work. They carry only cellphones to document attacks if they occur, and they hope their presence can help deter violence.

Jewish activists of all backgrounds have been injured in this work. Last spring, a pair of activists were beaten unconscious by extremist settlers, according to the report.

On a recent weekend, Bnei Avraham went to a village south of Hebron to do something different. Instead of working in fields or olive groves with adults, they brought clowns and a circus-style program for children who, like their parents, live with the threat of settler violence. In the village of Ar-Rihiya, activists handed out bubble wands, made animals from balloons, and performed routines that drew laughter. The gathering drew more than 100 children and their parents and grandparents. The group said the event was part of its effort to build a sense of solidarity and community with Palestinian residents.

Odelia Kessous, a Jerusalem lawyer and activist with Bnei Avraham who has developed close ties with the villagers of Ar-Rihiya, said the aim was to show residents what she called “another face of Judaism … not nationalism and racism dressed as Judaism.” She said this matters particularly to religiously observant Jews, as most settlers are. “It’s really complicated to be a leftist religious person in Israel now,” she said. “Unfortunately, I feel like Judaism was kidnapped by the right wing.” She said she grew up with a “different Judaism, one that focused on justice, on helping the minority and those weaker [in society].” Caring for the weak and the vulnerable reflects the kind of neighbor-love the children of Ar-Rihiya are being shown, as the Bible teaches us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Settler violence against West Bank Palestinians is not new, according to the article, but attacks that were once occasional are now nearly daily. The increase followed the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and the Gaza war it ignited. Human rights groups and Palestinians say Israel’s far-right government is complicit. They attribute a recent escalation to upcoming Israeli elections and to an effort by settlers and their advocates, wary of a change in government, to secure as much Jewish settlement as possible before the vote.

The attacks, which first focused on an area under full Israeli military control, have more recently spread to territory where the Palestinian Authority shares security duties. In the village of Qusra near Nablus, settlers attempting to set up an outpost laid siege to several homes, including one owned by an American citizen. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned the episode, calling it a “horrific act of terror.” Roei Kleitman, a founder of Bnei Avraham, said the showdown in Qusra and recent violence in a neighboring village, where four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed, are part of extremist settlers’ effort to pressure Palestinians into what he called “voluntary emigration.” He said extremists “want to push for an intifada [uprising] before the elections.”

Bnei Avraham is the activist arm of a larger grassroots group of young left-wing religious Jews called Smol Emuni, Hebrew for “left-wing faithful.” Its members grew up during the violence of the Second Intifada and under successive right-wing governments, most led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when optimism or a road map for a more peaceful future was almost entirely absent.

Source: Read the original report