May 1, 2025

On March 24, 2025, Jenna, a member of the St. Paul Jewish community, was violently attacked in the South Hebron Hills while participating in a delegation with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. The assailants—Israeli Jewish extremist youth—were armed with knives, rocks, a bat, and at least one gun. According to eyewitness accounts and reporting from the Forward, the group of four American Jews was beaten and had large stones thrown at their vehicle, shattering the windows and injuring the passengers.

Jenna was struck in the back with a wooden stick, similar to a baseball bat. Miraculously, she was protected from more serious injury by a metal sunscreen canister in her backpack, which absorbed the impact of the blow. She has since physically recovered, but continues to carry the emotional trauma of the attack. We are deeply grateful that she was not more seriously harmed.

This attack is not an isolated event. It is part of a pattern of extremist violence tied to illegal outposts in Judea and Samaria/Area C of the West Bank. Days after Jenna’s assault, The Times of Israel reported on a separate “brutal” attack by extremists, followed by a military raid that was later condemned by the IDF itself as a severe breach of professional and ethical standards.

In response, JCRC has sent a letter to Consul General Yinam Cohen, the highest-ranking Israeli diplomat in our region. The letter affirms our enduring love for Israel and our gratitude for the Consul General’s work under immense diplomatic pressure. At the same time, it calls for urgent action to address rising lawlessness, uphold the rule of law, and protect the democratic values at the heart of Zionism.

As the letter states, “We do not raise these concerns lightly. As students of Jewish history, we know that self-criticism from within—tochakha—is part of our covenantal tradition.”

We share this message out of deep commitment to Israel’s future as a secure, just, and democratic Jewish state—and in solidarity with a daughter of our own community.

With this commitment in grasp and our established relationships in place, JCRC has connected Jenna with Rabbi Shaul Judelman of Roots, a unique grassroots network of local Palestinians and Israelis which fosters understanding, nonviolence, and transformation among Israelis and Palestinians.