We in Jewish Voice for Peace of Northern NJ are heartbroken and horrified by the brutal murder of Palestinian-American citizen, Amer Rabbee, and the brutal wounding of his two Palestinian-American friends, Ayub Ijbara and Abed Shehada. The families state that the boys, aged 14 and 15, were picking almonds in their West Bank village. Israel says they were throwing rocks. Either way, the IDF’S firing 47 lethal rounds at them from a distance was cold-blooded, unjustified murder. This was an act of wanton violence and inhuman cruelty and demands an independent investigation and justice for these boys and their families.
We send our sincere condolences and extend our solidarity to their grieving families and friends, both here in New Jersey and in the West Bank—territory illegally occupied by Israel since 1967.
The United Nations reports that 100 children have been killed daily in Gaza since the genocide resumed. From the beginning of the Gaza genocide, at least 15,000 children have been killed, with at least 25,000 children injured, many losing limbs because of the devastation of medical services
We of Jewish Voice for Peace of Northern New Jersey join our voices with the voices of the Palestinian American Community Center (PACC) of Clifton, NJ, and all those people calling for justice, demanding that the U.S. government launch an independent investigation into the killing of Amer Rabee—a U.S. citizen whose life demands the same attention and respect from our government that all American citizens demand and expect.
We echo our friends at PACC in saying, “Israel’s war on children should be a global issue. Every child deserves the right to safety, joy, and freedom.”
We call for an end to all U.S. military aid to Israel—aid that is used illegally to target children, schools, clinics, hospitals, and rescue and humanitarian workers.