JORDAN VALLEY ACTIVISTS
We are active in the northern Jordan Valley, in the area between Mekhola and Hamra (Area C according to the Oslo Accords – Israeli security and civil responsibility). This area is home to about ten Palestinian shepherd communities, comprising several thousand people, as well as individual families scattered among them – long-time permanent residents, who have no other place to live. They rely on herding sheep and cattle, and live in difficult conditions in a harsh climate – without connection to water sources and electricity (except for connection to solar panels in recent years).
We are a group of Israeli volunteers whose goal is to help Palestinian shepherd communities continue to maintain their way of life and protect them from illegal activities like harassment by Israeli settlers and authorities.
In the past decade, about 14 illegal outposts have been established in the Jordan Valley.
The declared goal of which is to take over the area and expel the shepherds from their lands and from Area C, in preparation for annexation. Since October 7, 2023, there has been a significant escalation in the situation, and we are witnessing continuous attempts by Israeli settlers to hinder the shepherds' steps and force them to leave.
These attempts include blocking access to the few water sources in the area, preventing access to grazing areas, daily violent harassment (mainly towards the shepherds but also towards the activists), destruction of property, theft and running-over of sheep, threats, and more.
The settlers' actions are carried out with the active support of the Jordan Valley Regional Council, the army and the police, for example through arbitrary arrests, the illegal confiscation of cattle, creating difficulties for the passage of water tankers from the West Bank to communities, and ignoring complaints of violence.
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Several communities have been forcibly evicted from their land and others have been forced to abandon due to impossible pressure and threats. Among them are families in Hamra, Khirbet Samra, al-Farsiyah, Umm el-Jmal and Ibziq. Recently, some families in al-Burj and el-Maita abandoned their land due to the theft and slaughter of their herds by settlers.
Settler activity is flourishing.
We provide a 24-7 protective presence to threatened shepherd communities, including residential and grazing escorts. We are careful to avoid violence and act only at the request of community members. The mere presence of Israeli escorts and the careful documentation of what is happening reduces harassment and allows the communities a certain degree of security. Indeed, the communities we accompany – at their request – have so far managed to continue their way of life.
Our activities focus on protecting shepherds from harassment and violence in the field by Israeli settlers.
Detecting and preventing settlers and their herds from encroaching on Palestinian shepherds’ pastures and agricultural lands.
Monitoring and addressing the reduction of pasture areas.
Detecting deliberate sabotage, including road closures, blocking cisterns, and demolitions of buildings within shepherd communities.
Handling equipment confiscations by the Civil Administration and the Jordan Valley Council.
Observations of the establishment of new illegal outposts on private Palestinian lands, or land expropriation.
Systematic documentation of the course of events by activists, also for legal purposes.
Subsidizing the purchase of water for communities and their herds – an essential element for survival in the region’s extreme climate conditions, the need for which is exacerbated by reduced access to springs and the lack of a water connection.
Providing urgent legal assistance – legal representation of the herders in frequent cases of false accusations, issuing removal orders for harassing settlers, etc.
Attempts to assist in other aspects of the fabric of life such as education: providing tablets that will enable distance learning due to the inability of teachers to pass through checkpoints from Area B), medical advice and veterinary advice.
We operate on a democratic basis, in accordance with the votes of a plenary assembly of members. In addition to the ongoing protective presence, we operate a number of professional teams, including legal, media, archive, material assistance, finance, coordination and absorption.
However, the activity has a significant cost, which is currently based on collecting donations from group members and the public, via “Rabbis for Human Rights” NGO accounts. The volume of donations is not sufficient to meet our main goal – preventing the expulsion of the Palestinian shepherd communities from their lands.
All of the members in our group, about 150, work on a fully voluntary basis.
Please help us to continue our work.
Every Hour in the Field Makes a Difference
Your presence can help ensure that shepherd families remain on their land with dignity and safety. Thank you for standing with us.