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Israel’s celebrations this year of the joyous holiday of Purim, based on a biblical account of Jewish salvation, presented a jarring juxtaposition with the war in Gaza, where local authorities say Israel has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians as it seeks to destroy the militant group Hamas. This year, Israel’s religious right marked Purim with particular fervor, with Jerusalem holding its first Purim parade in more than four decades and Jewish settlers in the West Bank putting heavy symbolic weight on the storied destruction of enemies of the Jewish people, as recounted in the biblical Book of Esther. For West Bank Palestinians living in the shadow of Jewish settlements, the holiday marked more of the hardship that has grown since the outbreak of the war. Under heavy security, settlers in and near the West Bank city of Hebron held triumphal marches. 
 The holiday is traditionally marked by drinking alcohol and donning costumes, and in secular cities like Tel Aviv, the atmosphere is usually akin to U.S.-style Halloween celebrations. In Mea Shearim, a neighborhood in Jerusalem that is inhabited mainly by ultra-Orthodox Jews, the atmosphere on the street was boisterous with many drunks stumbling around, screaming at the top of their lungs and asking for donations. 
 Many Israelis felt that public festivities this year were inappropriate in light of the bloody war, which began Oct. 7 with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people.
 But some of the families of hostages who were seized that day considered the holiday a moment to draw attention to the plight of loved ones still being held in Gaza. Others used the occasion to salute Israel’s war dead and those displaced by fighting with Hamas in areas near Gaza and on the northern border by clashes with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. 
See our @latimes story here: /world-nation/story/2024-03-26/for-some-in-israel-a-wartime-holiday-strikes-discordant-note 

Words by Laura King Photos by Marcus Yam 

 #jerusalem #meashearim #ultraorthodox #Hostages #alcohol #drunk #Purim #parade #religious #holiday #Israel #gaza #idf #hamas #israelhamaswar #palestine #war
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1 day ago
The city of Jerusalem hosted its first Purim parade in over four decades, against the grim backdrop of the nearly 6-month-old Gaza war and the remaining Israeli hostages. Purim is a spring holiday during which Jews traditionally commemorate being saved from persecution in ancient Persia, as recounted in the biblical Book of Esther. The holiday is traditionally marked by drinking alcohol and donning costumes, and in secular cities like Tel Aviv, the atmosphere is usually akin to U.S.-style Halloween celebrations. But in Jerusalem, after a meeting between representatives of the hostage families and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, the name of the event was changed to “Purim Unity.” Both sides agreed that there would be fewer musical performances and it would performed at a lower volume throughout the day. 

“The procession was led by an exhibit calling for the return of the hostages. We always have in mind our 134 sisters and brothers who are in captivity, and we embrace the families, strengthen them, and stand by them all the way until their peaceful return. We also pray for the safe and sound return of all our soldiers from the front,” said Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion in a statement. More than 30,000 people attended the parade, according to the municipality. “The Purim Unity Parade is a significant cultural event full of hope for resilience, unity, brotherhood, and a prayer for the return of the hostages in Gaza. I am proud of the fact that we have found a way to mark the holiday of Purim together with the families of the hostages,” Lion added. 
See our @latimes story here: /world-nation/story/2024-03-26/for-some-in-israel-a-wartime-holiday-strikes-discordant-note

Words by Laura King Photos by Marcus Yam 

 #jerusalem #Hostages #forum #family #Purim #parade #religious #holiday #public #street #Israel #gaza #idf #hamas #israelhamaswar #palestine #war
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1 day ago
This year, the spring holiday of Purim comes against the grim backdrop of the nearly 6-month-old Gaza war. But in the occupied city of Hebron, the annual Purim parade for the city’s Jewish minority was allowed to proceed this year despite the cancelation or curtailment of similar festivities in other cities in Israel due to the ongoing war in Gaza and objections by some families of the Israelis still held hostage by Hamas. The country’s religious right marked Purim with particular fervor, with Jerusalem holding its first Purim parade in more than four decades and Jewish settlers in the West Bank putting heavy symbolic weight on the storied destruction of enemies of the Jewish people, as recounted in the biblical Book of Esther. The holiday is traditionally marked by drinking alcohol and donning costumes, and in secular cities like Tel Aviv, the atmosphere is usually akin to U.S.-style Halloween celebrations. As Hebron’s Jewish minority held its triumphal march down the occupied Palestinian city, soldiers provided heavy security over empty streets and some even partook in the festivities. The Hebron march is known to attract some of Israel’s most right-wing and extreme voices in Israeli society. This year Knesset member Orit Strock, who is the Minister of Settlements and National Missions, attended. For West Bank Palestinians living in the shadow of Jewish settlements, the holiday marked more of the hardship that has grown since the outbreak of the war. During the parade, Hebron’s Palestinians are subjected to a curfew and their movement is even more restricted by Israeli soldiers. All they could do was watch from their caged windows and isolated rooftops. 
Photos by Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times 

 #Hebron #Purim #parade #curfew #palestinians #religious #holiday #Costume #Israel #gaza #idf #hamas #israelhamaswar #palestine #war #occupiedwestbank #westbank #occupation
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2 days ago
Those hoping to establish Jewish settlements in Gaza say they will model their strategy on the West Bank, where today 500,000 settlers live among 3 million Palestinians. Since Oct. 7, tensions here have been simmering as the line between settlers and soldiers has become increasingly blurred After the Hamas attack in southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists were called up for duty. Many reservists in the West Bank were instructed to don uniforms and guard their own communities.
 For decades, Israeli soldiers have been deployed throughout the West Bank to protect existing settlements, which most of the world considers illegal under international law. But the soldiers are also often instructed to stop the building of illegal settlement outposts. ~ 
On a recent afternoon, Yosef Shalom Sheinman, stood with his father, Avraham, taking in views sweeping from the peaks of Jordan to the skyscrapers of Tel Aviv. Avraham Sheinman clutched a well-worn Torah, which he consulted frequently to highlight passages that he says show Jews have a religious obligation to be here. “We have a commandment to conquer it,” he said. He spoke of a war with Palestinians, but also of “an inner war” within Israel. “Who are we? What direction are we going?” he asked. “Are we going in the direction of our destiny as a chosen people in the Land of Israel — as a Jewish state according to Jewish law? Or are we a secular leftist copy of Europe or America?”
 ~ Many on the other side of the political divide view that question with the same urgency. In an interview with Sky News this month, writer and historian Yuval Noah Harari said the biggest threat to Israel is not Hamas, Hezbollah or Iran, but Jewish extremism: “There is really a battle for the soul of the Israeli nation between patriotism on the one side and ideals of Jewish supremacy on the other.” It is too early to say exactly how the Hamas attack and the Gaza war will shape that debate. But early indications suggest they have awakened new support for the right. 
 Excerpts from our story by Kate Linthicum Photography by Marcus Yam Read our @latimes story here: https://bit.ly/3Pr4I9v
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7 days ago
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a right-wing populist, has called settling Gaza “unrealistic.” But in 2022, as his ongoing corruption trials left him isolated, Netanyahu made a deal with several religious Zionist parties to form a coalition government, and his political future is now closely tied to theirs.⁣ ⁣ Beyond a pledge to maintain indefinite military control over Gaza and eventually turn over administrative duties to Palestinians, Netanyahu’s postwar strategy remains murky, leaving a vacuum, political analysts say, that the religious right is eager to fill.⁣ ⁣ ~⁣ ⁣ ⁣That meant building a political movement that has sought “to push the government as far right as it can go” and “completely demolish any talk of a Palestinian state,” said political scientist Dahlia Scheindlin. Over time, she said, ideas that once seemed extreme — like expanding settlements in the West Bank — became normalized.⁣ ⁣ ~⁣ ⁣ ⁣The military academy that has become the West Point for the religious right is built atop a wind-swept hill in the West Bank settlement of Eli. Here, young men wearing yarmulkes spend their days studying both the Torah and military strategy.⁣ ⁣ For many years, religious Zionist families were hesitant for their sons to fulfill Israel’s mandatory three-year army service, worried that exposure to secular peers would erode their faith. This school, Bnei David, promised to minimize that risk, offering teenage boys a chance to fortify their religious beliefs before entering the military. Its website boasts of starting a “quiet revolution in the Israel Defense Forces.”⁣ ⁣ ⁣Students are taught that God “wants a people of Israel, and there is no state of Israel if there isn’t a strong army,” said Rabbi Eli Sadan, the school’s founder. Speaking from behind a large desk strewn with rabbinical texts, Sadan said he supports a scorched-earth military strategy in Gaza, “so Israel’s enemies will see the ruins and think: ‘I don’t want to mess with the Jews.’”⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Excerpts from our story by Kate Linthicum⁣ Photography by Marcus Yam⁣ ⁣ Read our @latimes story here:⁣ https://bit.ly/3Pr4I9v⁣ ⁣
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9 days ago
“Carrying planks of plywood, a group of Israeli settlers pushed past soldiers guarding the barrier surrounding the Gaza Strip and quickly got to work. Within minutes, the young men had erected two small buildings — outposts, they said, of a future Jewish settlement in the war-torn Palestinian enclave. Their movement had hungered for this moment for years, but now, after Oct. 7, they felt it was just a matter of time before Jews would be living in Gaza again. “It is ours,” said David Remer, 18. “[God] said it is ours.”

Religious Zionists, who believe the Jewish people have divine authority to rule from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, make up only around 14% of Israel’s population. But in recent years they have greatly expanded their influence in the military, the government and society at large, and their often extremist ideology is helping shape Israel’s war against Hamas. Although they are not politically homogeneous, most religious Zionists embrace far-right views. They loudly oppose a cease-fire deal to bring home Israeli hostages, and have repeatedly blocked humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza by standing in front of aid trucks. They see the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel as proof of their longtime assertion that peace cannot be made with the Palestinians, and view Gaza as a territory that they have a religious obligation to conquer. Increasingly, they have called for the expulsion of the 2.3 million Palestinians living there.

First, they dream of reestablishing Gush Katif, a bloc of Jewish settlements that existed in Gaza until Israel withdrew from the enclave in 2005.

It’s a goal embraced by some of the top leaders in Israel’s far-right government, many of whom appeared at a recent Jerusalem rally pushing for Gaza’s resettlement.”

Excerpts from our story by Kate Linthicum Photography by Marcus Yam Read our @latimes story here: https://bit.ly/3Pr4I9v #army #settlement #bufferzone #military #farright #government #religious #beithanoun #erez #Border #crossing #gushkatif #Jewish #settlers #Israel #gaza #idf #hamas #israelhamaswar #palestine #war #occupiedwestbank #westbank #occupation
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10 days ago
Demonstrators watched as a single police officer tried to extinguish a bonfire that they lit, blocking a main road in central Tel Aviv. Thousands more gathered to demand the return of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down. They storm a major freeway to block traffic. Arms put together and raised in the headlights, fingers up to for the peace sign. ⁣ ⁣ Banners read, “Bibi guilty, all eyes on Rafah and 13,000 children killed in our name”. The banners of the hostages are still hoisted and names are chanted. Near the Ministry of defense is a mock tank sitting out front. Standing on top are the veterans of previous wars. They wear shirts that read: “Fighters of the ’73 Yom Kippur war fighting for the character of the nation.” A small group also demanded an end to Israel’s war in Gaza and occupation of the Palestinian Territories. They are jeered by an even smaller group of counter-protesters who support Netanyahu and the continuation of the war in Gaza. ⁣ ⁣ When the water cannon truck showed up protesters retreated into sitting traffic, countering its short range and nullifying the crowd dispersal tool. Mounted police stepped in instead and border police units came into push back the demonstrators. So the protesters kept moving and tried to to sit and block other roads until their numbers dwindled into the night. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Photography by Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times ⁣ ⁣ #antiwar #protest #demonstration #netanyahu #elections #antigovernment #antioccupation #peace #Israel #gaza #idf #hamas #israelhamaswar #netanyahu #antigovernment #protest #war #photojournalism #dispatches #latimes #latimesphotos⁣
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11 days ago
The holy month of Ramadan is one of the most festive times of the year for Muslims, but with the war in Gaza and increased security to the holy site of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the mood this year is somber. Today Palestinians and other devout Muslims conclude evening prayers at the old city of Jerusalem on the first day of fasting, worship and spirituality for the holy month of Ramadan. 

 #damascusgate #oldcity #muslim #holy #worship #ramadan #religion #palestine #jerusalem #occupation #Israel #gaza #idf #hamas #israelhamaswar #netanyahu #antigovernment #protest #war #photojournalism #dispatches #latimes #latimesphotos
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16 days ago
Since the war began, two friends have spent most evenings holed up at the Ramallah television studio where one of them works. They remain long after the nightly news has taped and most of the staff has departed, chain-smoking cigarettes and talking about the only thing that matters: Gaza. Both men have families who are trapped there. Ahmad abu Alezz’s four sons are crammed into tents in the southern city of Rafah. Mohammad Al Farra’s parents are camped in the nearby town of Al Mawasi. At least that’s what he hopes. It has been six weeks since Al Farra’s mother or father answered one of his messages. Each day he scans lists of the latest victims of the Israel-Hamas war, praying he won’t find their names. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank, territories that Palestinians claim for their future state, are separated by some 25 miles. But they are worlds apart. Since 2007, when Hamas seized control in Gaza, an Israeli blockade on the territory has almost completely curtailed Palestinians’ ability to move between the two regions, and residents from each area have led increasingly disconnected lives. The war in Gaza has exacerbated that sense of distance, with periodic power outages and scarce internet leaving people there more cut off than ever from the outside world. In the West Bank, where news channels feature constant coverage of the nearly 30,000 Gazans who have been killed by Israel’s attacks, the war has stirred feelings of solidarity — and impotence. Excerpts from story by Kate Linthicum Photography by Marcus Yam Read our @latimes story here: /world-nation/story/2024-02-25/israel-west-bank-gaza-war-rafah-trapped #solidarity #friendship #ramallah #westbank #occupation #Israel #gaza #idf #hamas #israelhamaswar #netanyahu #antigovernment #protest #war #photojournalism #dispatches #latimes #latimesphotos
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17 days ago
This past week Israeli protesters from the ‘Tsav 9’ movement, made up of demobilized reservists, religious settlers, families of hostages and secular supporters marched towards Kerem Shalom, one of Israel’s functioning border crossing with Gaza. Protesters have expressed that they fear that the aid shipments is falling into the wrong hands and aiding militants, while their friends and relatives are still held captive.   The protests to halt the aid delivery into Gaza – considered a critical necessity by aid groups, come at a time when Gaza is now facing crisis levels of food insecurity. More than 80 percent of the enclave’s 2 million-plus residents have been displaced by Israel’s war in Gaza, while 134 remaining hostages kidnapped during Hamas’s October 7 massacre remain in captivity.  U.N. officials have cited that at least one-quarter of Gaza’s population – more than 550,000 people – is one step away from famine. At least 20 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration at the north’s Kamal Adwan and Shifa hospitals, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Aid groups have warned that deaths will continue to rise from malnutrition-related causes in Gaza.  Photography by Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times #tsav9 #humanitarian #international #aid #food #block #protest #shipping #truck #famine #egpyt #Border #Keremshalom #crossing #Israel #gaza #idf #hamas #israelhamaswar #netanyahu #antigovernment #protest #war #photojournalism #dispatches #latimes #latimesphotos
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18 days ago
There is a precarity to life in the West Bank when you are Palestinian. A shopping run, a quick errand, a simple walk through the park — all can turn deadly at any moment. ⁣ ⁣ It was a lesson the Palestinian village of Burin learned anew earlier this month when Israeli forces — conducting what they said was “counterterrorist activity” — shot and killed 10-year-old Amro as he sat in the front-seat of a car with his father, Mohammad Najjar. ⁣ ⁣ The Israeli army said it was responding to “suspects hurling rocks at soldiers, who then responded with live fire.” Mohammad was in the car in Burin’s center with his two sons when the Israelis entered the village. He hunkered down to start, but when the sounds of shooting subsided, he moved again, only to see soldiers come out in front of him once more. ⁣ ⁣ There were no warnings, only gunshots, and a spider-web hole in his windshield which meant his youngest son’s life was extinguished — adding to the tally of the dead that has already seen 106 Palestinian children killed in the West Bank since Oct. 7, and almost 13,000 more children in Gaza. ⁣  ⁣ “This is our daily life,” said Ibrahim Omran, who heads Burin’s council.⁣ ⁣ “We don’t have the most basic human rights or sense of security or safety. We are in god’s care.”⁣ ⁣ Photography by Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Many thanks to @nabihbulos & @mariamdwedar for the guidance and support. ⁣ #Burin #occupiedwestbank #military #raid #funeral #palestinian #westbank #occupation #Israel #gaza #idf #hamas #israelhamaswar #netanyahu #antigovernment #protest #war #photojournalism #dispatches #latimes #latimesphotos⁣
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20 days ago
Over the weekend, thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in Tel Aviv. The demonstrations against the Netanyahu government took place nationwide, called for new elections and the return of Israeli hostages in Gaza. There were also others who carried banners with messages of ‘ceasefire now, blood on your hands, anti-netanyahu, end the occupation.’ One such banner had a drawing of of Prime Minister Netanyahu behind bars. Reuma and Gadi Kedem, join the demonstrators, holding up a sign of their family members: daughter, son-in-law and three little grandchildren – all murdered in their home on Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct 7th Hamas attack. They did what the others did, brought traffic to a snarl, to make their point: remember their loved ones and oust Netanyahu. There were occasional tussles between police and protesters tonight in Tel Aviv. Protesters tried sitting and blocking traffic on major roads. Some were apprehended and carried away. Amidst the pushing and shoving, somewhere escorted away without arrest. Photography by Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times #Israel #gaza #idf #hamas #israelhamaswar #netanyahu #antigovernment #protest #war #palestine #photojournalism #dispatches #latimes #latimesphotos
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24 days ago