Congress Condemns Settler Attack on WaPo Photographer
The congress condemns settler attack response intensified Friday as a growing number of U.S. lawmakers denounced the beating of Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine by masked Israeli settlers in the West Bank and pressed for investigation and accountability.
Levine, 64, was reporting on Friday’s olive harvest in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, when dozens of masked settlers descended on Palestinians and the journalist, knocking her to the ground and repeatedly kicking her. She was stripped of her cameras, bag and phone before being taken to a hospital.
Lawmakers Demand Investigation and Accountability
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland called the attack unconscionable and a moment of reckoning, asking whether accelerating vigilante violence against Palestinian civilians and foreign observers by protected right-wing vigilantes would be tolerated.
Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey said reports that the attack was coordinated were deeply concerning, as were reports that Israeli soldiers did not intervene. He said he would continue calling for an investigation and accountability.
Rep. Ro Khanna of California wrote that Levine had told him the attackers picked her up, threw her down and kept kicking her. He said settlers operate with impunity and called for cutting off aid to Israel that funds settler activity and stopping weapons sales. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware described the attack as appalling.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut released a formal statement noting that video of the assault showed Levine wearing clearly visible press markings, and said only her helmet and flak jacket kept her alive as the attackers repeatedly kicked her. She added that the Palestinian farmers in the grove had no such protection, and said Israel’s promised investigation must be real, with those responsible held accountable.
Levine’s Injuries: Four Broken Vertebrae
Levine, a veteran conflict photojournalist who has covered Ukraine and the Middle East for decades, suffered four broken vertebrae, a broken rib and lacerations across her body. She was treated at hospitals in Ramallah and in Israel, and her protective gear is credited with saving her life.
The assault unfolded over roughly ten minutes, according to Levine’s account. Video showed settlers hurling stones with slings, surrounding her on a dirt path and tearing away her bag. Israeli police said they opened investigations into the Abu Falah attack and a separate assault on harvesters near Turmus Ayya, where three Palestinian vehicles were set ablaze.
Washington and Jerusalem Respond
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem condemned criminal violence in the West Bank and said it was monitoring the situation. The State Department said earlier it was greatly concerned whenever an American is harmed overseas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the facts of the incident remained unclear and were under investigation, claiming that hundreds of Arabs and far-left activists had confronted about 40 Israeli youths. Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray rejected that framing, saying the key facts were not in dispute: Levine was marked as press, and she was beaten.
Source: The Washington Post