She had been on a semester program at Bezalel Arts Academy and now
...recalls waking up to reports of a deadly clash between Israeli Navy commandos and those aboard a Gaza-bound Turkish aid flotilla.
Though she already had attended many protests against the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Henochowicz said the circumstances surrounding the flotilla gathering felt different. She expected the protest to be relatively calm, given that nine Turkish passengers died in the early-morning raid [???].
Events, however, took a violent turn when border police responded to several Palestinian youths who had begun throwing rocks. [isn't that backwards? events took a violent turn when Arabs began acting violently, no?] Authorities have said that Henochowicz was not intentionally targeted, according to news reports, but she questions that claim.
Witnesses at the protest have reported that the canister was shot directly at Henochowicz, who was holding a Turkish flag aloft at the time and was not standing near the rock throwers. [and other witnesses say differently]
...“Tear gas shot from those guns does not even closely equal throwing stones,” she said. [so, the police should throw stones back?] “I know maybe this is apologetic or something, but I think that usually when people throw stones it is more of a symbolic thing because [stones] are highly inaccurate” [as are gas canisters?] and usually are cast in frustration [so, if they are thrown with malice aforethought, we can then defend ourselves?].
Even before Henochowicz arrived in Jerusalem, she says she had already begun to question the Jewish state’s policies regarding the Palestinians, as well as use of military force...American Jewish youths are taught that “Israel is surrounded by hostile Arabs who are just closing in on it,” but after arriving in the country, Henochowicz says she now believes that Israel is the true aggressor.
“The thing that scared me the most about going to the West Bank was the Israeli military,” she said. “I wasn’t going to get hurt by Palestinians there.” [no, because she identified with them and supported them. silly.]
...Henochowicz says she was motivated to act after witnessing a confrontation in Sheikh Jarrah, an Eastern Jerusalem neighborhood. A group of Chasidim had begun screaming prayers at Palestinian children, she recalled.
“For me it was really strange because ... these prayers are a part of me, and it’s really hurtful” to see religion utilized as a weapon of hate, she said. [talk about being strange]
Don't they teach logic anymore?
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