Kiki Lipsett, a Jewish Bay Area musician and music teacher, visited the West Bank back in 2017. One of her hosts was a young Palestinian activist who, over tea one night in his village’s gathering tent, shared a story about an attack by Israeli settlers.
Eight years later, that activist, Awdah Hathaleen, was shot and killed during a confrontation with settlers in his village of Umm al-Khair.
Lipsett spoke to more than 200 people who gathered for a vigil in Hathaleen’s memory on Thursday night at Oakland’s Lake Merritt Amphitheater.
“You told us about when the neighboring settlers threw rocks at this gathering tent, the rocks loudly hitting the metal beams of the tent all night long, keeping your whole village awake,” Lipsett said, through tears. “The next day, as a response to this, you and your community spray-painted ‘Love Your Neighbor’ in big red letters on the side of the tent that faces the settlement.”
(Courtesy Phillip Weintraub)
Lipsett was among the Jews who joined other pro-Palestinian activists to mourn the 31-year-old father of three who supported nonviolent resistance and was featured in “No Other Land,” a documentary that won an Oscar earlier this year.
The speakers at Thursday’s vigil spoke in loving memory of Hathaleen and some in vehement opposition of Israel.
The suspect in his July 28 death is a settler who has been sanctioned previously by several countries for his attacks on Palestinian civilians, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Israeli police initially arrested Yinon Levi and placed him under temporary house arrest. Against the wishes of police, a judge later refused to extend the house arrest, citing weak evidence.
Hathaleen’s death comes amid increased violence in the West Bank, where confrontations between Israeli and Palestinian residents have intensified since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Other Jewish speakers included Jim Haber, a longtime local member of Jewish Voice for Peace, the anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian organization founded in Berkeley.
Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, a member of JVP’s rabbinical council, also addressed the vigil. She recalled helping Hathaleen realize his dream of praying in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time.
“It’s always dangerous to be Palestinian in Palestine,” Gottlieb said.
Because of his English proficiency and his demeanor, Hathaleen was well known to many activists internationally, Jewish and not. Lipsett was not the only one to note that she had remained in touch with him over the years via text.
For years, members of Piedmont’s Kehilla Community Synagogue met with Hathaleen monthly over Zoom to offer solidarity and support. In June, Kehilla members hoped to meet him and his cousin Eid in person during a visit to the U.S. that was set to begin in the Bay Area. But before Hathaleen and his cousin could leave the San Francisco International Airport, they were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Their visas were revoked, and they were sent home the next day.
Don Stone is one of the Kehilla members who got to know Hathaleen on Zoom over the past two years. Stone had been looking forward to finally meeting him in person in June. He came to the vigil to mourn him instead.
“I could not believe the amount of openness and trust that he had amid day after day after day of incredible, I would call it, terror,” Stone told J. after the vigil. “He was a very peaceful, beautiful person.”