NOVEMBER 14 • 2019 | 15
Jews in the D
Harsh
Words
Andy Levin
criticizes Israel
in tweet during
West Bank trip.
D
uring his trip to
the West Bank last
week, Michigan
Congressman Andy
Levin expressed criticism
toward Israel’
s treatment of
Palestinians residing in the
village of Susya.
The Times of Israel reported
that Levin was unhappy that
Palestinians in Susya have
been denied water access and
that Israel has demolished
Palestinians buildings in the
village.
“Yesterday, I traveled to the
southern West Bank, including
the Palestinian village of Susya,
which the Israeli government
has destroyed twice and
currently denies access to
water,
” Levin tweeted. “Yet
we watched the government
utility, right before our eyes,
lay in pipes right across the
village’
s land to deliver tap
water to an illegal Israeli
outpost nearby.
” He did not
name the outpost.
Levin expressed anger
about the current treatment
of the Palestinians in Susya,
while also acknowledging the
resilience of the Palestinian
community.
Levin told the Jewish News
as he was preparing to leave
Israel, “
As I prepare to fly
home from Israel, I am clearer
than ever that a two-state
solution is the only way to
provide a secure, democratic
future for our Jewish
homeland alongside a state for
our Palestinian neighbors.
“We met with everyone
from Orthodox Jewish settlers
to U.S. Ambassador Friedman
to Palestinian and Israeli
negotiators to diplomats from
many countries to Israeli and
Palestinian business leaders.
We laid a wreath at Yad
Vashem, which was especially
moving. We dug into issues
faced by Israeli residents near
Gaza, seeing the shells of
rockets that had fallen on their
town, as well as Palestinian
residents of the occupied
territories, who lack access to
water and basic services. We
got detailed briefings from
the Israel Defense Forces,
the founder of the model
Palestinian city of Rawabi and
many others.
“Through it all, my
conviction grew that we
can we can help Israelis and
Palestinians achieve a two-
state solution and open a new
era of peace and prosperity.
In the end, we met with two
women, an Israeli general and
Palestinian lawyer, who have
both worked on negotiations
between the sides at the
highest level for decades. Their
message was clear: This is not
a pipe dream, but the only
practical way forward.
”
CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
TWITTER