Haredi activists visit jailed Arab teen's family home, express solidarity
"We came to express our solidarity with what happened to the family."
By JULIANE HELMHOLDUpdated: JANUARY 30, 2018 11:10Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi's family home visited by members of the ultra-Orthodox sect Neturei Karta(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS)
Members of the anti-Zionist Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) group Neturei Karta recently met with the family of Ahed Tamimi, the Arab teen who was arrested last month for assaulting IDF soldiers.The Hirsch family and other activists from the ultra-Orthodox group arrived at the Tamimi family home in Nabi Salah, near Ramallah, with Palestinian flags in their hands and expressed their support for the family's struggle for the girl's release, according to the Haredi news website Kikar Hashabbat.The delegation met with the girl's father, brothers and friends to express their condemnation of what they view as undemocratic behavior of the State of Israel: arresting an innocent girl for no fault of her own."We came to express our solidarity with what happened to the family," said Rabbi Israel Meir Hirsch. "At the meeting we spoke against the occupation and against the ongoing oppression of the Palestinians... It is not only this arrest but the entire conduct of the Zionist establishment against the Palestinian people, this situation.""We arrived at the village and everyone appreciated our actions," said Hirsch.Tamimi was arrested during a raid on her home in the West Bank village of Nebi Salah on December 19, after a video showing her slapping and kicking Israeli soldiers who did not respond went viral. Another young Palestinian woman filmed the action with her cell phone, suggesting that Tamimi was actively seeking to provoke a violent reaction by the soldiers.The video evoked polarized reactions, with much of the Israeli camp expressing outrage that she and her cousin were not arrested on the spot, and much of the Palestinian camp cheering her aggressive resistance to what they view as Israeli occupation.Tamimi has sparked such attention that dozens of media outlets in Hebrew, Arabic and English as well as diplomats from several European countries attended her January 15 hearing where the decision was made that she would be jailed until the end of her trial.Ben Lynfield and Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report
