On Thursday I traveled to the West Bank with Alon, a young guy who’s pursuing a PHD in the USA and is just in Israel on a visit. We both met in Givatayim to pick up a car that belongs to an activist who’s abroad. During the ride I asked Alon about his experience being an Israeli student in the US these days and he called a shop to inquire about refilling a fire extinguisher. The car we were driving was equipped with lots of things that might be useful. The previous Friday night a settler set an empty den on fire and so the fire extinguisher came in handy. Apparently the mitzva of terrorizing Palestinians overrides the mitzva of observing the Sabbath.

When we arrived at a small homestead outside of Tayibe, we greeted a pair of activists who were just leaving. They said that the “blondini” is coming with sheep or goats. Alon pointed in the direction of the horizon and showed me the dark shapes of animals approaching. They bring the goats as an excuse to be here. The goats also eat olive branches, which is why none of the trees have low branches, but camels are more effective if you want to seriously take out a mature olive grove.

Alon taught me how to attach my phone to a string and then put it around my neck.  The “blondini” steals phones. He stole the phones of two people and he stole Alon’s camera. He also hit a female activist in the face and caused her to bleed.

A woman invited us into her home. Alon did the talking because my Arabic is nonexistent. Alon gave a little boy a birthday present. It’s not Alon’s first time visiting this........

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