Rebecca Saidlower

BREAKING: Rabbi Yehuda Gilad, head of Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa, visited Khirbet Humsa in the West Bank following a settler pogrom in which a 29-year-old Palestinian farmer was sexually assaulted, his family was beaten, and hundreds of his sheep were stolen. Below is his full statement, translated from Hebrew: Letter from the Head of the Yeshiva, Rabbi Yehuda Gilad With God’s help, Rosh Chodesh Nisan — “a time of atonement for all their generations” Yesterday I went through a very difficult and deeply disturbing experience. I visited Khirbet Humsa (about a 30-minute drive from our yeshiva), where a pogrom carried out by hilltop youth took place about a week ago. I heard the details of what happened there from several sources, including Ruti — a woman I have known for years and trust completely. It turns out that in the early hours of the night, a group of rioters (around 30–40 people) arrived, equipped with sticks and many zip ties. They bound the men (and apparently also two foreign volunteers, though I am not certain of this), and then beat them all over their bodies with fists and clubs. We saw many remnants of the zip ties on the ground. The men required treatment at the hospital in Afula for injuries of varying severity. At the same time, the attackers stole the entire herd — about 300 head — belonging to the few families living there, under unimaginable conditions of poverty. At first, I heard that there had also been sexual violence, and I did not believe it… Yesterday we arrived at the site with Ruti, a friend of mine who is well known to them. When they saw us — Rabbi Avidan Friedman and myself — they visibly recoiled in terror and anxiously pointed to the kippot on our heads. Ruti tried to calm them, explaining that we were not among the attackers. Even so, at the beginning of the meeting, they were hesitant and afraid. I heard directly from a young man — a firsthand witness — what had happened there. From his face, the blue bruise in his eye, and his sorrowful expression, it was clear he was telling the truth. In that same conversation (with the help of a translator), he described in detail the prolonged abuse they endured while bound. Then, with deep shame, he told us something I had previously found impossible to believe. I find it difficult — my hands tremble as I write this about Jews — and yet I will write it, because I am convinced it indeed happened. Yes, these wicked individuals bound his genitals in an extremely painful way — not to mention the humiliation involved. These events recall the pogroms our ancestors endured in various diasporas. Have we become like the worst of the nations? I want to turn to the question: what should be done? But I feel that I am still at the stage of crying out. Alas — what has become of us!