FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2010
Israeli settlers attack Portland-church volunteer with stones in Jerusalem
(Portland, Ore. April 9, 2010) — Hardline Israeli settler youths assaulted three female Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs), including Kathy Preuss of Tigard, in Jerusalem on Monday, hurling rocks and bottles in an unprovoked attack.
Eight “adolescent Jewish settler boys congregated together and started yelling obscenities at us, ‘Go back to German,’ ‘Go back to Jordan,’ and ‘This is Jewish,’ says Preuss, a volunteer with the Ecumenical Accompaniement Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), an initiative of the World Council of Churches. EAs provide a nonviolent, “protective presence to vulnerable communities, monitor and report human rights abuses and support Palestinians and Israelis working together for peace,” according to the program’s website eappi.org.
“One young boy.. was fast approaching my colleague,” relays Preuss. “Her back was to him as she was trying to walk away. With a clenched fist and arm raised over his head, I believed he was going to hit her. I yelled, ‘No’, and as she turned to face him, he quickly turned away. Rocks were now being thrown at us, and one of my teammates was hit in the arm.” The rock was fist size and struck an EA who is in her sixties, bruising her arm.
Preuss felt surrounded. Then a “group of Sheikh Jarrah Palestinian residents positioned themselves between us and the settlers. The scene soon intensified. A large group of settler boys were on one side and the Palestinians on the other. Rocks and sticks were being thrown. These rocks were fist size and larger. It was chaotic. That confrontation ended with the settler boys running from the scene.”
Prior to the attack the women had visited a Palestinian home in the
Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, a hot spot area,
since Israeli authorities began a wave of evictions last summer. Up to
28 large Palestinian families are currently targeted for eviction to
make way for illegal Israeli settlements, plans which the Obama
administration has criticized.
When the police arrived ten minutes later, Pruess says, “The settlers
surrounded the police giving their side of the story. They said such
things like, “The Arabs attacked the internationals,” meaning the women
EA volunteers.
According to the EAPPI report, the EAs “were actively trying to talk to
the police but continually waved away…They did manage to talk to the
police for around one minute, but the police did not ask any of the EAs
for specific details of the incident. A Palestinian was arrested, but
police took no action against the settlers who started the
confrontation” (Settlers attack EAs with stones: eappi.org).
Preuss believes that “If the Palestinian men hadn’t shown up…we
would’ve been seriously hurt. They protected us. The arrest…[of the]
Palestinian man, adds insult to injury.”
The EAs filmed the attack as it was happening. After it was viewed and
public, EAPPI updated their report adding that “four of the settlers in
the Youtube clip were banned for a month from Sheikh Jarrah. [T]he
Israeli courts gave two more families in Sheikh Jarrah a month’s notice
to leave their houses. This would bring the number of evicted families
to five, including dozens of individuals, many of them children.”
Preuss has a masters degree in social work and has nearly completed the
requirements for her certificate in conflict resolution and mediation
certificate at Marylhurst University.
Though EAPPI is supported by US national churches through EAPPI – US,
American volunteers provide the funds to participate. Preuss received
grants from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutherans for
Justice in the Holy Land – A Ministry of Central Lutheran Church, in
Portland, where Preuss is an active member. Members and others also
donated to the “Holy Land Travel Fund” which Central Lutheran recently
established to help travelers such as Preuss (centralportland.org).
Fundraising continues during coffee hour each Sunday as coins are
dropped in to the “Change for Palestine” jar.
To read Preuss’ blog, go to witness4peace.wordpress.com.
To view the “Sheikh Jarrah attack April 5 2010” video, see
youtube.com/watch?v=WPm1AQqF77M.
For EAPPI report and photos, see “Settlers attack EAs with stones”:
eappi.org =