Sarah Silverman Calls On Jews To Stand Up For Palestinian Ahed Tamimi

Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman February 16, 2018

The arrest of Ahed Tamimi, a 17-years old Palestinian girl arrested after being filmed slapping an Israeli soldier near her West Bank home, has evolved into an international debate, pitting human rights groups against the government in Jerusalem and pro-Israel groups.

Now, comedian Sarah Silverman is weighing in on Tamimi’s side and urging fellow Jews to do the same, even if it means parting with the Israeli government. “Jews have to stand up EVEN when — ESPECIALLY when — the wrongdoing is BY Jews/the Israeli government,” Silverman tweeted Thursday.

Jews have to stand up EVEN when — ESPECIALLY when — the wrongdoing is BY Jews/the Israeli government. https://t.co/vIKDxgLm41

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— Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) February 16, 2018

Silverman promoted an email campaign launched by Amnesty International which called on supporters to write to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and protest Tamimi’s detention. “There is nothing Ahed Tamimi has done that can justify the continuing detention of a 17-year-old child,” Amnesty wrote in its appeal.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.