September 24, 2026. David Shulman on At-Tawa’il and the Poet Na’if; and Margaret Olin, on Jinba

September 30, 2026October 1, 2026 / Margaret Olin / Leave a comment

above: photograph by David Shulman

Excavated rocks at the roadside, poised to roll down onto the homes of local residents of At-Tawa’il. Photograph: Yotam Jacobson

The day got off to a harsh start. No sooner did we reach the village than the two night-shift activists, Y. and R., told us they were climbing the high hill towering over At-Tawa’il to see if there were settlers there with a bulldozer, as Hasan had informed them. And Hasan was right. The bulldozer was clearing a swath of privately owned Palestinian land to create a new road that will connect to the settler outposts just over the hill. You can imagine what this means—an apartheid road meant only for Jews, of the messianic-apocalyptic-violent-sadistic landgrabber variety. Along with stealing the land the bulldozer was also showering the houses down below with boulders and other debris. Y. and R. stopped the bulldozer, and the settlers attacked them.

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In Memoriam: Michal Peleg, 1959-2025. Text by David Shulman; photographs and additional text by Margaret Olin

June 16, 2025June 30, 2025 / Margaret Olin / 8 Comments

Jerusalem, 2022. Photograph: Margaret Olin

Michal Peleg is now gone. Another enormous loss, just two weeks after Muhammad died.

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May 29, 2025 Ras al-‘Ain. text: David Shulman

June 1, 2025June 1, 2025 / Margaret Olin / 2 Comments

Muhammad Rashaida, 1964-2025. photo: Margaret Olin, December, 2024.

Emptiness. Sorrow. The madafeh, indeed the whole village, feels empty without Muhammad. Just last week we were sitting with him, drinking tea, chatting,devouring the cake he had bought for us. We took for granted his gracious manner, his steadiness, his gentle nature. He seemed as solid as the desert rocks, as the rolling waves of the hills. He was killed earlier this week in a car crash near Nablus; his car collided with a huge truck, and he died instantly. This man who survived years of settler violence and harassment, the theft of his herd, the never-ending threats from soldiers and police, died in broad daylight on the road.

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Ras al-‘Ain, December 15-16, 2024. text: David Shulman; photographs: Margaret Olin

December 17, 2024December 17, 2024 / Margaret Olin / 1 Comment

Daily settler attacks on Ras al-‘Ain are becoming tougher, also more dangerous; more settlers involved, more outrageous acts, more physical violence, a surplus of arrogance and burning hatred. Every day they invade the village, on horseback, on donkeys, in their vehicles, with their herds of sheep and camels. It feels like something bigger is boiling, about to spill over. They know they are completely immune to punishment of any kind; the police and soldiers stand with them. As for the government, the extremists, including the prime minister, initiate, fund, arm, and fully support lethal settler violence everywhere on the West Bank, with the unmistakable aim of expelling the entire Palestinian population of Area C.

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Ein Rashash, September 4, 2023. text: David Shulman

September 7, 2023September 16, 2023 / Margaret Olin / Leave a comment

avant-propos: Next year Intellect Press will publish The Bitter Landscapes of Palestine, a book of photographs and texts inspired by our work on this blog. Please consider donating to our kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the book. The campaign ends September 27. You can see our video, read our story and donate at this link. NB: the first, modest goal has now (Sept. 9) been met; donations are still very welcome and much appreciated.

Ein Rashash, 2018, photograph: Margaret Olin

Like so many Palestinian villages in the central West Bank, between Ramallah and Jericho, Ein Rashash is hanging by a thread in the perilous space between life and death. A massive program of ethnic cleansing is taking place before our eyes. Israeli settlers, religious in some perverted sense of the word, have perfected very effective methods to reach their goal. Readers of this blog are familiar with some of them.

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April 22, 2023. Week 16 of the anti-government, anti-coup demonstrations. Text by David Shulman

April 26, 2023April 26, 2023 / Margaret Olin / 3 Comments

So far, there is no doubt that we are winning. We will stop the thugs and killers of this so-called government in their tracks.

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October 29, 2022. Umm al-‘Ara’is. Text by David Shulman. Photographs by Margaret Olin

November 1, 2022November 1, 2022 / Margaret Olin / 1 Comment

By 8:00 when we arrive at Simri, some twenty soldiers are already waiting for us.

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Qawawis, Ar-Rakiz, June 4, 2022. Text, photographs by Margaret Olin

June 21, 2022March 24, 2024 / Margaret Olin / 2 Comments

Until the police came and started barking orders and pushing people, or rather until the first stun grenade set everybody running, the morning in the South Hebron Hills seemed reasonably peaceful.