In the Jenin refugee camp, I saw many beautiful things. Not books of poetry by Rachel or by Natan Alterman, as the narrator of a Naomi Shemer song once described finding at Israeli army outposts in Sinai, but a courageous, determined, well-organized camp imbued with fighting spirit perhaps unparalleled in history.
It had been four years since my last visit. For a year now, the Israel Defense Forces haven’t dared invade the camp itself, but only its outskirts. For years, the Palestinian Authority has been unable to enter it. Nor has any Israeli journalist, aside from Amira Hass, visited here or been wanted here, following all the disappointments Israeli reporters dealt the camp’s residents.
But this week, I returned with photographer Alex Levac. It was a very emotional visit – personal, moving, but also instructive.
The city of Jenin has had 60 residents killed in the last year alone. Of these, 38 were residents of the camp, the place most like the Gaza Strip in both its spirit and its
— source Jews For Justice For Palestinians | Gideon Levy | Jan 12, 2023