Zak Witus, at The Blogs

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Feb 21, 2022, 6:07 PM

Haj: Arrival in the South Hebron Hills

I set out from Jerusalem for Umm Al Khair with my eight Hineinu comrades later than expected two Fridays ago. I rode shotgun. Along the way, I took photos through the windshield with the idea that I would create...

Sep 16, 2019, 9:28 PM

The Occupation Didn’t Start With Netanyahu, And It Won’t End With Him Either.

This week Israelis will go back to the polls in the country’s first ever “do-over” election, and many Democrats are hoping to see the long reign of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu end. In a recent campaign video, Senator Bernie...

May 4, 2019, 12:45 AM

Don’t Sound the Alarm: Israel Is Not at Risk of Annihilation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks with his wife Sara through the Machane Yehuda market in Jerusalem on April 8, 2019. THOMAS COEX / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

Many Israeli politicians have built their careers upon the fear that Israel faces the threat of imminent destruction. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stoked Israelis’ existential dread for decades, first whipping up crowds in opposition to the Oslo Accords...

Aug 3, 2018, 10:29 PM

Jewish congressional candidates demur, defer on Israel/Palestine

Ellen Cogan Lipton and Andy Levin are currently leading the race to represent Michigan’s 9th U.S. Congressional District, a seat previously held by Andy’s father Sander Levin, who is retiring after 35 years. Both candidates are Jewish, each with...

Jun 28, 2018, 10:14 AM

Condemn the Gaza massacre: An open letter to Congressman Sander Levin

Dear Congressman Sander Levin, As one of your constituents, I urge you to condemn the ongoing massacre of civilians by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. Since March 30 Israel has killed at least 129 Palestinians, including medics, journalists,...

Jun 13, 2018, 11:24 AM

Bearing witness to the routine violence of occupation

Even when the cameras of the big international news agencies disappear, the occupation grinds on. One day in the West Bank and East Jerusalem demonstrates how precarious Palestinians’ physical safety and rights are under Israeli military rule. On May 13...

May 25, 2018, 12:46 PM

Israel Continues Aggression against Syria while Playing the Victim, or: The Way of the Wall

In this few weeks, the Israeli leadership, in close coordination with the United States, has dragged the Jewish State to the precipice of a disastrous, all-out war with Iran. In order to properly understand how we’ve arrived at this...

Apr 9, 2018, 11:18 AM

How the Israeli military violates the rights of Palestinian children

International law is the minimum standard of justice that the countries of the world have agreed to abide by. It is by nature a compromise—a set of fundamental principles that both enemies and friends say that they will respect....

Mar 29, 2018, 9:09 PM

The strangulation of Susiya: State criminality as law enforcement

Drive an hour due south from Jerusalem, past Bethlehem and past the Israeli settlement Carmel with its Jewish National Fund pines, and near the bottom of the Occupied West Bank in the South Hebron Hills you’ll find Susiya. Depending...

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About Me

Zak Witus is a writer, whose work has appeared in The Forward, +972 Magazine, and Truthout. He is also community organizer with IfNotNow, a movement seeking to end Jewish-American support for Israeli apartheid. Zak earned a master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago (2020).