NEW YORK — Today, T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization that represents over 2,000 rabbis and cantors and their communities in North America, released the following statement in response to a video from Breaking the Silence, which appears to show IDF soldiers arresting five children between the ages of eight and twelve in the South Hebron Hills.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of T’ruah, released the following statement:
“The video of young Palestinian children being arrested by Israeli soldiers while reportedly gathering wild vegetables in the South Hebron Hills should be a shock to our system. It is the latest demonstration of the ways in which the occupation violates the human rights of Palestinians every day and corrodes Israel’s moral standing.
“The incident took place near an outpost that is illegal, even according to Israeli law, and whose residents are known for regular violence and harassment against both Palestinians living in the surrounding area and against Israeli human rights activists. Videos taken moments before the arrests of the children show the settlers shouting at the children and taking their buckets of vegetables. And yet, these settlers suffer no consequences for their behavior. Instead, the army responds to their complaints by arresting Palestinian children.
“Though the children have been released from detention after being held for several hours, two have been summoned back for questioning next week, without a clear reason or charge. Regardless, the children — all between the ages of eight and twelve — are below the age of criminal liability. This particular incident happened to be caught on video, but the detention of Palestinian children is a regular occurence. Whereas Israeli children who are arrested are allowed to have their parents with them during questioning, and are charged under civil law, Palestinian children are charged under military law, and do not have the right to be accompanied by their parents during interrogation.
“Horrific scenes such as these are a natural result of an occupation that has lasted more than half a century. As long as the Israeli army administers the lives of millions of people living under military occupation, teenaged Israeli soldiers will continue to be sent to arrest children just a few years younger than themselves, and Palestinians will continue to be denied the most basic human rights.
“Every Jewish organization that is committed to human rights and dignity, and to the future of the State of Israel, must condemn both the arrest of children and the ongoing occupation that leads to abuses such as these.”
About T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights mobilizes a network of more than 2,000 rabbis and cantors from all streams of Judaism that, together with the Jewish community, act on the Jewish imperative to respect and advance the human rights of all people. Grounded in Torah and our Jewish historical experience and guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we call upon Jews to assert Jewish values by raising our voices and taking concrete steps to protect and expand human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.