Israelis against the occupation

Vered and Roee at the Women in Black vigil

I did not see the violent clashes in the old city of Jerusalem today that may have made news at home, but I did see something new today: an "American Indian" boy at the weekly vigil of the Women in Black in Israeli West Jerusalem. He was actually a five-year old Israeli boy named Roee, dressed up for the Jewish holiday of Purim, which commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from the Persians thanks to Esther. I saw several costumed children, but Roee was the only one with the Women in Black. His mother, Vered, said she has been in the weekly protest for 10 years. She says she started because "I wanted to change the situation.We want to stop the occupation." There were fewer demonstrators and passersby today, perhaps because of the holiday weekend. There were the usual hecklers and the lone woman counter-demonstrator across  the street. For more on the Women in Black, see my blog of February 8.

Sheikh Jarrah demonstration

A couple of the Women in Black were also present, as usual, at a larger weekly demonstration in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of  East Jerusalem to protest the eviction of Palestinian refugees. Unlike the silent protest of the Women in Black, here there was chanting and singing. About half of the demonstrators were Israelis, and half Palestinians.

Just one block from the demonstration   lives the family of Mohammed Shamasneh, which is threatened with eviction next Friday if the Supreme Court rejects his appeal for a new delay.

Mohammed Shamasneh

Ten people in the house could become homeless: Mohammed, his wife, his parents, four sons, and two daughters. He says his family has rented the house since 1964, and his father signed a lease in Hebrew, which he did not understand. He says the owners want to evict them to make room for more Israeli settlers. I asked him where they will go if evicted next week. He said, "We have no alternative plan."

Hundreds of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem are fighting eviction orders.