Pro-Palestine Jews Confronted by Pro-Israel Christian at JVP Tu B'Shevat
On Thursday Gainesville Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) held a Tu B'Shevat teach-in in front of Library West at the University of Florida (UF).
JVP is an American-Jewish anti-Zionist advocacy organization with chapters in several U.S. cities and college campuses. JVP formally had a chapter at UF, but it has since become inactive due to the majority of its members graduating.
JVP member and UF student Meir Schochet organized the Tu B'Shevat teach-in.
Tu B'Shevat is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Shevat on the Hebrew calendar. Tu B'Shevat is known as the “New Year of the Trees” and has been used historically in Jewish tradition to honor the planet and nature.
Schochet said, “Tu B'Shevat has become co-opted by Zionists in the past century, and one of the reasons we’re doing this is to co-opt it back. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) has taken the holiday and really integrated it into Israeli culture and the sale of Israeli land bonds, but the holiday itself is spiritually connected to the Earth, and Israel’s ongoing ecocide is not healthy for the planet.”
A report by the University of California branch of the Global Health Institute states, “Following a 50-day war in 2014, Palestinian environmental engineer Abeer al-Butmeh and her organization PENGON-FoE Palestine discovered that many agricultural areas targeted by Israeli missiles had become infertile. Their environmental impact assessment revealed degraded air quality with high levels of particulate matter and lead and significant losses in wildlife populations. Fishermen reported changes in fish availability…. Following October 7, the continuing attacks on civilians, infrastructure, and agriculture have only worsened the environmental crisis. Northern Gaza, which was once two-thirds agricultural land, is now completely decimated.”
Schochet said, “Jewish people around the world, especially since 1948 with the creation of the State of Israel, have often donated to JNF as a part of their Tu B'Shevat celebrations. JNF was established in 1901 to collect money to buy property in Palestine. In many Jewish communities, JNF is synonymous with Tzedakah, which means ‘giving.’ Annually, JNF does a fund for tree-planting in Palestine, but they’ve been documented to have planted non-native trees in Israeli forests.”
JNF’s website states the organization “tries to choose a variety of trees that are indigenous to the area being planted, and [they] plant trees such as olive, palm, oak, Jerusalem pine, sycamore, and cypress, among others.”
During the Tu B'Shevat, a Christian UF student walked up to JVP and argued against their message in support of Israel.
The student said, “You guys are not true Jews…. You don’t even admit that your own people were killed on October 7.”
One of the JVP members said victims of the October 7 attacks were killed by Israeli soldiers and referenced reports that the Hannibal Directive was used.
According to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Hamas and five other Palestinian armed groups carried out planned attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers on October 7. Israel’s response reportedly included the use of the Hannibal Directive, which is intentional friendly fire to prevent the taking of hostages.
“According to the Commission’s investigation, in these two cases at least 14 Israeli civilians were likely killed as a result of Israeli Security Forces fire: one woman was killed by helicopter fire while being taken from kibbutz Nir Oz to Gaza by militants, and the other 13 were likely killed by tank shelling and crossfire in kibbutz Be’eri,” states the UNHRC report.
Additionally, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Channel 12 that “tacitly in some places” the Hannibal Directive was used.
Israel’s social security figures state 695 Israeli civilians, including 36 children, as well as 373 security forces and 71 foreigners, were killed on October 7. The UNHRC estimated the death toll to be as high as 1,200.
The Gaza Health Ministry reports that 34,344 Palestinians in Gaza were killed from October 7, 2023, until August 31, 2024; 11,355 of them were under 18, and 710 were under the age of one. GnvInfo has not yet obtained data updated to the present.
The student said that Hamas “beheaded women and children” on October 7.
Following the October 7 attacks, numerous mainstream media outlets reported that “40 decapitated babies were found in the Kfar Aza Kibbutz.” Former President Joe Biden told the American people he “confirmed” the beheadings, but a White House spokesperson walked back the claims, saying Biden was referencing reports from Israeli officials. An Israeli official told CNN they could not confirm the claims.
The UNHRC reports, “Bodies of women were found in several locations completely or partially burnt. Some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition and/or decapitated. The Commission reviewed photos of the burnt skull of a decapitated woman found in Kfar Aza. The Commission also reviewed photos of a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the head and then decapitated.”
The UNHRC reviewed a video published by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad showing two militants holding the severed head of a man but could not determine his identity and whether he’d been decapitated before or after death.
The UNHRC confirmed the beheadings of three Israeli soldiers, getting confirmation that one was beheaded after death and not being able to make a determination for the other two.
The UNHRC submitted several requests for a response from Israel but received none and stated Israel is “actively obstructing” their investigation by “instructing medical professionals not to cooperate with the Commission.”
Thousands of Palestinian children have been killed following October 7, many losing limbs or being decapitated by Israeli bombings in Gaza. Several photos and videos posted by Palestinian journalists show the state of child victims of Israeli attacks, including but not limited to Hossam Shabot, Mohammed Fayq, Saleh Jafarawi, Abdullah Shahwan, and Yousef Hamada.
The student told Schochet and the other JVP members that Hamas committed rape on October 7.
The UNHRC found reasonable grounds to conclude sexual violence took place on October 7; however, the commission reports the “absence of forensic evidence of sexual crimes.… Witnesses who spoke to the Commission explained that Israeli authorities focused on identifying and burying the large number of bodies in the period following the attack, leading to evidence not being collected and preserved for accountability purposes.”
The UNHRC reports they have “not met any survivors of sexual violence committed on October 7, despite its attempts to do so. The Commission has documented information that some survivors are receiving treatment but are not ready to speak about their experience with external parties.” The UNHRC interviewed multiple witnesses who stated bodies were found in states indicative of sexual violence.
A report by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on detainees held in Palestine and Israel states one released female hostage reported being raped in an apartment. The UNGA also reports several cases of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees in the West Bank.
Former Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the U.S. State Department of Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, John Paul, said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that the Defense for Children in Palestine informed him a 13-year-old boy was raped in a Muskubiya Jurusalem prison. He said the allegations were found to be credible, and they were put to the government of Israel, which responded by declaring the Defense for Children in Palestine a terrorist entity.
John Paul speaks on the rape of a Palestinian detainee in an Israeli prison (CNN)
Schochet told the student he was being antisemitic due to his “fake Jews” statement.
The student responded, “I love the Jews.”
“Except if you’re a ‘fake Jew,’” said a JVP member.
The student rhetorically asked the JVP members, “What happened on October 7?”
Schochet rhetorically asked the student, “What happened in 1948,” referring to the Nabka when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced upon the creation of the state of Israel.
Schochet attempted to inform the student about the 1982 Sabra and Shatila Massacre, where between 700 and 3,500 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians were killed by members of the Kataeb Party with support from the Israeli military.
The student began telling the JVP members to “Go to Gaza” and said, “They’ll behead you if you’re gay in Gaza. That’s not my rules; that's Hamas.”
Schochet, who is openly gay, responded that he would experience discrimination in Israel and would not be allowed to get married there.
Israel recognizes gay marriage, but same-sex couples have to get married outside the country. Israel will register a same-sex partnership; however, Israeli non-profit Nefesh B'Nefesh reports “Being registered as married is not equal to being legally married in Israel and does not necessarily make you eligible for all the rights of a heterosexual married couple. For example, the right to a surrogate pregnancy, automatic recognition of the parenting of the non-biological parent, etc.”
Under the British Mandate Criminal Code, homosexuality between two men carries a ten-year prison sentence in Palestine, but there aren’t any reports of the law being applied.
There aren’t any reports of Hamas carrying out mass killings or beheadings of queer people. There is one report from Haaretz claiming to have been provided documents from the Israeli military detailing the execution of a gay senior member. There is one other report in which a man who does not provide his name or show his face states he was tortured by Hamas militants for being gay.
A report by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada states a “representative of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Israel stated, without providing details, that ‘evidence’ has demonstrated that homosexual relationships are ‘treated with [the] death penalty.’ Further and corroborating information on the prosecution or sentencing of individuals suspected of homosexuality or same-sex activities in Gaza could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this response.”
The student told Schochet and the other JVP members that he could show them a video from the October 7 attacks of Hamas cutting open a pregnant woman’s belly.
According to a report by the Anti-Defamation League, “A graphic video circulated recently on platforms like X purportedly shows a Hamas militant cutting the fetus out of a pregnant Israeli woman while she was still alive. The video was shared alongside testimony from a first responder, who is speaking English….The video in question is several years old, dating back as early as 2018, and is believed to show a brutal murder by members of the Mexican cartel. While the story about the pregnant Israeli victim has not been confirmed, it is based on a real testimony from a member of ZAKA, a volunteer search and rescue organization in Israel.”
After the argument, GnvInfo told the student he was being recorded and asked if he’d like his name to be in the article. The student said he wanted to be anonymous and stated the following:
“I condemn Hamas. I love Israel with all my heart. I am a Christian who believes in Jesus Christ, the son of God, God in the flesh himself. Isaiah 53 says, ‘He was pierced for our transgressions. He was wounded for our iniquity. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him.’ Jesus Christ is the Messiah that came with the Jews. He still got rejected. He came 2,000 years ago, and He loves you so much that He died on a cross to pay for the sins of the entire world. I am a wretched sinner saved by the grace and love of Jesus. I support Israel because when I read the Old Testament, I read that Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, then Joshua—all these people—they were in Egypt, and God made a way for Israel as a nation to come out of Egypt through the Red Sea; it was a miracle. Israel has a long history of rebelling, then turning back to God…. But Israel is God’s nation. Israel is the only nation God gave the Ten Commandments to. Yes, the Ten Commandments are for all of us, but he gave them to Moses, who was an Israelite. Jesus, my Lord and Savior, was an Israelite. I condemn Hamas. I think it's disgusting that people support Hamas. Nobody says they support Hamas, but they don’t condemn them. I condemn Hamas to the fullest degree in the mighty name of Jesus. When I saw 1,300 Israelis die on one day, my heart was broken. [JVP’s] argument is, ‘What about before?’ Based on the Old Testament and what I’ve read, in the Kingdom of Solomon and the Kingdom of David, Israel far outlasted any city in Palestine. Palestine came from; I don’t know the entire [history]; I should know all of it, but this guy renamed Israel to ‘[Syria] Palestina’ because he was trying to get rid of Israel as a whole. Palestine comes from the word Philistines, and the Philistines were always the enemy of Israel, such as King David when he killed a giant…. I support Israel, I condemn Hamas, and I want to make it clear I love Palestine with all my heart. I love the Palestinians. I say all murder is bad, but Israel does have a right to defend itself, and if we want a ceasefire, what needs to happen is all the hostages need to be released, starting with the Israelis and Americans, because they’ve been in captivity for over 400 days.”
Under the current ceasefire agreement Hamas will return the hostages at regular intervals in exchange for roughly 2,000 Palestinian detainees.
Gaza Health Ministry Director-General Munir al-Bursh reported that 92 Palestinians have been killed in direct attacks by Israeli forces since the ceasefire began.
