I have know the members of the gentle community of Umm El Khair for more than a dozen years. I have never been more truly afraid for their lives and well-being. 🧵 Last Wednesday, the Israeli army, accompanied by settler security, completely unannounced, demolished nearly a quarter of the village. Buildings that have had demolition orders for 18 years. One of the homes was the house of my friend Eid Al Hathaleen.

🧵/1 Israel’s Supreme Court is often seen as a bastion of liberal values in an increasingly illiberal country. But, this reputation needs another look.

Without a constitutionally backed system of checks and balances, the Court has been susceptible to rampant delegitimization. /2 Rather than fight and lose, the Court has begun to silence itself.

The result is a once mighty institution, now afraid of its own shadow.

I write about this for @JewishCurrents here: jewishcurrents.org/the-long-reach…

THREAD:

[NOTE: This is *one piece* of context for what is happening in Israel-Palestine right now]

1/ Nadine Awad, a talented 16-year-old Palestinian citizen of Israel, was killed alongside her father by a Hamas rocket yesterday morning in the unrecognized village of Dahmash. 2/ This tragedy due in part to the fact that Dahmash has no infrastructure whatsoever, including shelters. I've written about why this is for @TheAtlantic here: theatlantic.com/international/…