Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins its Israeli sister organization Shalom Achshav (Peace Now) in protesting yesterday’s demolition of the Sallehiya family’s home in the East Jerusalem flashpoint neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

The demolition took place today, in a pre-dawn raid by some hundred Israeli police officers, who used dogs and stun grenades. They tore down both the home and the nursery that is the family’s source of income. Eighteen people were arrested during the raid.

Peace Now, along with other Israeli civil society organizations, is demonstrating today at several locations to protest the violent eviction of yet another Palestinian family in this sensitive location.
APN’s President and CEO Hadar Susskind said: “An entire family was thrown out of their home and into the cold Jerusalem night, and tension in Sheikh Jarrah is again rising. Evictions and home demolitions in Jerusalem are morally and politically wrong, regardless of the stated purpose. We call on the Biden Administration to speak out against this horrific action.”

Peace Now has shown possible options for a compromise planning solution that would have accommodated both the Sallehiya family and the Jerusalem Municipality’s plan for building a school in the neighborhood.

For more on the Sallehiya case and other flashpoints in East Jerusalem, see Peace Now’s resource page.

APN is currently raising funds for the Sallehiya family to help it rebuild its life.