Palestinian lives don’t matter on the Jewish day of atonement

Last Tuesday, three IDF soldiers confronted an 18-year-old Palestinian university student on her way to class at the Shuhada Street checkpoint. Hadeel al Hashlamon was dressed in a burqa. Though we don’t know precisely how the incident began, we know how it ended: with her shot multiple times, lying on the ground and slowly bleeding to death while the IDF refused to allow medical emergency personnel to tend to her.

What was the crime committed by Hadeel al Hashlamon, the student who was gunned down by three members of Israel’s IDF? She was ordered by the checkpoint guards to step back. But she remained standing in place. The guards started yelling at her to step back. But again, she remained in place. As background information, you should know that they were yelling their orders in Hebrew. Some reports state that the guards wanted to frisk her or pat her down. She refused to allow the male guards to touch her. She requested a female.

The soldiers then raised their guns, pointing them at her. A young Palestinian man, witnessing this confrontation, pleaded with the guards not to shoot because the woman did not understand Hebrew. He asked if he could approach her to explain what they wanted from her. The guards refused and opened fire on this woman, hitting her in the legs and then firing several bullets into her chest.

The Israeli “heroes” then tried to justify the shooting by claiming she came at them with a knife. No knife was found on her body.

When Hadeel collapsed to the ground, bleeding, no one tended to her. She remained on the ground bleeding to death.

To add insult to injury, several Israeli settlers were standing off to the side videotaping the incident, laughing and having a jolly good time.

A Palestinian ambulance arrived but they were not allowed to attend to this young woman and they were forced to withdraw.

An Israeli ambulance arrived about 40 minutes later and took her to an Israeli hospital but she had already bled to death.

It is significant to know that this incident occurred on the Jewish Day of Atonement, when Jews throughout the world take the time to confess their sins both individually and communally and ask God for forgiveness. So much said for the spiritual life in Israel where Palestinian lives don’t matter, they are expendable.

What can we expect to happen now? Israeli officials will announce that they will “investigate.” They will interview and then harass the witnesses. The checkpoint guards will either be found justified in their actions or given a slap on the wrist for overreacting.

This response to the killing comes from the same playbook as that used by U.S. police departments. When police commit murders in the U.S., it is the friends of the murderer who investigate and determine the outcome. Then the other members of the judicial system join to ensure there will be no indictment. The murderer will often have to suffer the consequences of a couple of weeks of paid suspension and then, maybe, a couple more weeks of desk duty.

The Palestinian communities, enraged over this event, one which seems to occur almost daily, will take to the streets in protest. Israeli officials will then claim justification for gassing and shooting demonstrators and continuing making night raids on sleeping families, arresting the males of the species. After all, Israel has every right to defend itself.

Unfortunately, we have all seen this movie before. Israel wants the Palestinian communities out of Palestine because, as one Israeli woman stated recently, “God promised it to the Jews.”

I, personally, never met God but I’m certain he never worked in the real estate business.

How is the Jewish community in Israel going to explain this incident to God? Do we really believe that sins are merely washed away in one day by fasting and praying while we continue to commit more sins?

These three men, members of a terrorist organization, the IDF, arbitrarily took the life of a young woman, a student, who offered no threat to them and yet, it’s just another day in Israel.

The killings will not stop and the U.S. will continue to support Israel with our tax dollars. So much for justice, democracy, and freedom.

Remember, the two closest allies the U.S. has in the Middle East are Israel and Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have beheaded almost 100 prisoners (think ISIS) and is in the process of beheading a 21-year-old man who was arrested at the ripe age of 17 demonstrating against their repressive government.

Do you think this says something about the U.S. and itsmission to spread democracy and freedom throughout the world? If you lived under this horrendous oppression, how would you react?

The Palestinian resistance is not terrorism, it is a legitimate response to the terrorism of the Israelis.

GOD BLESS AMERIKA!!

Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.