School children escorted by volunteer activists. Photo courtesy of Margaret Olin
Every school day in the Hebron Hills, Palestinian children, some as little as 5-years old, walk three kilometers from their tiny village of Tubah to attend the nearest school in Twaneh under the threat of Israeli settlers’ harassment and attacks. In the afternoon, the children repeat the experience as they return home. Heavily armed Israeli soldiers escort the children pretending to provide protection but in reality they are complicit with settlers turning a blind eye to their violations of human rights plain criminal acts against defenseless children. Volunteer activists often walk with the children to provide as much protection as they can but they themselves come under brutal attacks by soldiers and settlers.
Map shows path traveled daily by school children from Tuba to Twani bypassing the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’on. Courtesy of Google Maps.
Margaret Olin, Yale University Senior Lecturer emerita, Department of Religious Studies, photographs the children and the beautiful landscapes of the Hebron Hills as part of her ongoing photo blog, Touching Photographs. David Shulman, an Israeli activist currently residing among Palestinians in the Hebron Hills, adds text to Olin’s photography documenting settler’s acts of terrorism against children, activists, livestock and vegetations.
In this session, Olin and Shulman will describe their recent eyewitness experiences sharing photographs and eyewitness accounts. They will answer questions and participate in audience discussions.
The village of Twaneh, school visible in upper left corner. Photo courtesy of Margaret Olin