Birthright walk-offs get a taste of settler violence in Hebron


Eight Birthright participants were on a tour with Breaking the Silence when settlers began harassing them

Breaking the Silence staffer Frima Bubis speaking with Israeli police after a settler child threw paint on her head during a tour in Hebron

Mairav Zonszein reports in +972:

If the settlers of Hebron were trying to show a group of Birthright participants who had walked off their trip earlier this week that their views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are skewed, it’s safe to say that they failed miserably.

Halfway through a tour of occupied Hebron that the eight Birthright participants were taking with Israeli anti-occupation group Breaking the Silence on Monday, a settler child, who appeared to be between eight and 10 years old, threw yellow paint onto the head of tour leader Frima “Merphie” Bubis.

The incident followed at least half an hour of harassment by adult settlers, accompanied by children, as part of their routine attempts to disrupt and drown out Breaking the Silence tours in the city.

Bubis was shaken but required no medical attention. Eight Israeli soldiers who were present did nothing to stop or apprehend the child.

The tour on Monday was part of several actions in the West Bank so far this summer organized or facilitated by IfNotNow, an American Jewish anti-occupation group. The movement’s “Not Just a Free Trip” program, which has already seen two groups of Birthright participants walk off their trips, aims to challenge Birthright’s narrative while inviting participants to learn about Israel’s military regime during their 10-day free trip to Israel.

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