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Report from the West Bank
Benny Davidovitch recently returned from the West Bank as part of a Protective Presence for Palestinian shepherds and their families. This presentation is based on his personal experience in the 2 weeks he spent with families in the West Bank (northern Jordan valley). He has put together an excellent presentation on his time there, including photos and videos taken by himself and other volunteers. It is approximately 25-30 mins, and consists mainly of photos and short films of events that he and others with the group Jordan Valley Activists (JVA) witnessed during their stays in West Bank communities.
Davidovitch is an American-Israeli who is a volunteer with JVA, a group comprised of mostly Jewish Israelis who provide a “protective presence” between Palestinian shepherds and the settlers who target them. They document law violations and other abuses committed by the settlers and fund-raise to help shepherds access water when sources are restricted by the Israeli army. Since the Hamas attack of October 2023, the settler movement has used Israel’s siege in Gaza as an opportunity to intensify their established campaign of violent harassment of Palestinian shepherds and their families– including arbitrary arrests, home demolitions, land grabs, and murders.
Benjamin Davidovitch, an American-Israeli resident of Amherst MA since 2007, works as a Physics Professor at UMass Amherst. In the summer of 2025, he joined the Jordan Valley Activists – Israeli volunteers who stay 24/7 with Palestinian communities at risk, and provide them with “protective presence” against their harassment and displacement by violent settler groups.
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