Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, June/July 2019, pp. 62-63



Human Rights

By Elaine Pasquini

While visiting the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) on their first trip to Jerusalem, Virginia students Nour and Safa Hawash were violently assaulted by Israeli security forces outside of the Dome of the Rock on March 12.

“We went to take photos of the Dome of the Rock when we suddenly heard the sound of gunfire and Israeli soldiers chasing people in all different directions,” Safa Hawash told reporters gathered March 18 at the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, VA, where the Hawash family are members and Safa and Nour work in the communications department. “Within seconds great numbers of backup soldiers swarmed the area.”

As she assisted an elderly woman in a wheelchair, Nour was grabbed by a female soldier, pushed to the ground and handcuffed, Safa said. During the assault, the sisters’ mother, Germeen Abdelkarim, was knocked to the ground. “My sister was holding her U.S. passport when the female soldier threw it to the side and continued to handcuff her, saying ‘I don’t care about your ID.’ Several soldiers gathered around my sister and barricaded her with their feet and bodies,” Safa recounted. “We were beaten, kicked, shackled and spat on.” Calling on her congressional representatives to condemn this assault, she noted, “This is only a fragment of what the Palestinian people have to endure on a daily basis.”

“The Dar al-Hijrah community holds our government responsible for making sure that American citizens are protected at home and abroad and that our tax dollars are spent to make sure that justice is served throughout the world,” said Saif Rahman, public and government affairs director at Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center.

“This incident before us is just another reminder of Israel’s disrespect for the United States and American citizens,” Osama Abuirshaid, national policy director of American Muslims for Palestine, told journalists. “This is a country that we annually give $3.8 billion and it continues its crimes and mistreatment, not only of Palestinian citizens, but of American citizens.” Invoking the Leahy Law of 1961 is necessary, he pointed out, because it requires the State Department to account for each dollar in foreign aid that is given to a specific country and explain how the money is being used. Abuirshaid also demanded that the Trump administration revisit its policies in relation to Israel and the illegal occupation of the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza. “These policies are being directed against Americans because the Israelis know there are no consequences,” he stated. “But there should be consequences, and we should demand that American citizens be respected and protected.”

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) national executive director Nihad Awad urged all Americans to raise awareness about the reality of the brutal illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. “Putting pressure on Israel is not easy and change will not happen very soon because of the debate that has been prohibited on the influence of the pro-Israel forces on our government officials,” he said.