Should Israel Pay for American Protester's Lost Eye?

Emily Henochowicz is led away after being shot in the face. (Courtesy International Solidarity Movement)

As you may recall, a 21-year old American student at Cooper Union lost an eye after getting hit in the face with a tear gas projectile during a checkpoint demonstration in Israel in May. Artist Emily Henochowicz was doing a semester abroad when she got involved with the International Solidarity Movement, and on May 31st she joined a demonstration against the the deaths of pro-Palestinian activists aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Rocks were thrown at Israeli border police, who, according to witness accounts, fired tear gas canisters directly at the protesters.

Henochowicz, who was holding a Turkish and American flag and was not near the rock throwers, was hit in the eye. "The IDF maintains that the tear-gas canister bounced off a wall, and that they acted impeccably—but what wall? Where?" Henochowicz asks in this week's Village Voice cover story. Avi Issacharoff, an Israeli journalist from the newspaper Haaretz, witnessed the incident and says, "The police fired a tear-gas grenade, and then another and another. I remember that what surprised me was the volley of grenade fire directly aimed directly at the demonstrators, not at the sky."

Now back in the U.S., Henochowicz has been putting a brave face on the injury, and says, "The cool thing about this is that paintings look more 3-D to me now. It's your stereoscopic vision that makes paintings appear flat. I guess I can be grateful to the IDF for giving me the chance to see the world in a new way." But she's just beginning a legal battle with Israel over her hospital bills.

Her father, who was born in Israel to Holocaust survivors whom he described as "ardent Zionists," tells the Times he's received a letter from Israel's Ministry of Defense explaining that the government would not cover the medical bills because border police dealt lawfully with the “violent protest at Qalandiya,” and that the firing of tear gas was justified. The family's lawyer replied, "It is insolent and preposterous to expect someone who was shot by the security forces, whether unintentionally, negligently or with criminal intention, to fund her own medical treatment."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on July 28, 2010 3:41 PM

Comments [rss]

Polite New Yorker

If the Israeli government doesn't want to pay for the unlawful damage they do to Americans, let's see them get by without our big fat subsidies every year. Sadly, the tear gas canister that partially blinded one of our citizens was paid for in large part by our tax dollars.

dgeee

Jews invented fascism, so they aren't too concerned about someone being injured by the fascist IDF.

withStupid

And now you know why Gothamist posts these stories: racist nutjobs like dgeee "Jews invented fascism" can always be counted on flocking to them and upping the page views.

twentyfive25

Racial supremacy as practiced by jews for centuries is fascism, dumb ill-informed politically correct p*ssy.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

I read the Village Voice article yesterday and this young woman is talented and positive. I would advice people to read the article before they insult her. She really is an awesome person.

mpresto

IDF regulations require that tear gas canisters are shot at an upward arc so that crowds can be dispersed while minimizing the risk of individuals getting first degree burns (the canisters are hundreds of degrees) or worse.

If you look at reports by B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, you'll find a pattern of IDF soldiers and border police officers shooting tear gas canisters directly at protesters. Other international activists, such as Tristan Anderson, and many many more Palestinians have been the victims of this cruel practice. Whether or not the protest is "nonviolent" (as if throwing rocks can really be deemed violent considering what they're up against) does not influence the decision to shoot directly.

http://josephdana.com/2010/05/shooting-tear-gas-directly-at-protesters-in-nabi-salih-video/

http://www.btselem.org/English/Firearms/20090504_State_Attorney_to_Police_direct_firing_of_tear_gaz_canisters_foribdden.asp

jpeditor

B'Tselem = marxist whores looking for love from jihadis.

fuboy

Putting aside our own political/ideological disagreements, I have to wonder what a conversation between her grandparents, "Ardent Zionists", and Emily would be like when discussing her attendance of Pro-Palestinian rallies.

I imagine it would play out much like her legal battle, which I suspect will end in a shrug and "Tough Luck" from Israel.

LinkMan

I know ardent Zionists who attend pro-Palestinian protests. Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian aren't mutually exclusive positions if you believe in a real two state solution.

wingedearth

Israel never admits wrongdoing. But we don't need to protest or punish them. We just need to withdraw our support. And maybe confiscate their nukes.

Helen Thomas knows the score

as if paying for emilys medical bills would make Israel what...civilized?

israel was and is a european colony. they,ve razed villages, made millions of people leave their homes, killed thousands and even today 60 years later they have to constantly use violent to keep people in line. They should deserve the same respect as colonial spain in south america.

this is all there is to it

LinkMan

The United States was and is a european colony. they,ve razed villages, made millions of Native Americans permanently move to reservations, killed millions more both at home and abroad and even today they have to constantly use violence all over the world to keep people in line.

John L

Lol, have you guys watched the victim's video "I Miss You Palestine"? It's actually pretty hilarious although I don't think she intended it to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH0QnX84KjI&feature=player_embedded

I really can't stop laughing.

But her video notwithstanding I still feel she should compensated.

John L

Absolutely. They should reimburse her for her medical care.

Don't they get billions in U.S. tax money every year anyway? So paying for her medical care should not be a problem, it won't cost them anything.

Geoff

of course they shouldnt

why does no one ask how a person in israel on student visa, ends up with the ism after only a month of being there....and by her own admission...attended between 10-20 protests

had she put on her visa application that she was close to individuals in the ism, she never wouldve been allowed in country

not only should the idf not pay for her treatment...but she and her family should pay for the cost of the police that were there thanks to her and her comrades

and she should be banned from ever entering israel

TheTruthYouSeek

The only people that support Israel are ignorant Jews who think that just because they are "Jewish" in heritage, they should support the sick, fucked up Israel.

Madly Hatting

Ok. Who dropped the I-word? *yawn*

Anyone else just see A-Rod strikeout with the bases loaded? Stuck on 599...ugh...

Madly Hatting

Eye-word would have made an amazing pun. I'll get it next time!!

adeez

I urge everyone to read the Voice article. It is fascinating as well as infuriating.

How can anyone look at that photo and not be affected? Notice the woman behind her, who helped her the whole time. This has nothing to do with whose "side" one is on.

Of course, the "alternative" media was all over this when it happened. And all witnesses were quoted as saying that the soldiers "aimed directly at the demonstrators," as the quote above states.

Our inhumanity and lack of compassion towards one another will be our downfall. From everyone on these blogs anonymously telling each other to go fuck themselves over the most trivial of issues, to soldiers deliberately trying to take out the eye of a protester and being seen as deserving of it. Sad.

LinkMan

And all witnesses were quoted as saying that the soldiers "aimed directly at the demonstrators," as the quote above states.

Also in the article it mentions that Israel is conducting a "criminal investigation of the person who shot her and the people who ordered it." Israeli soldiers and border policemen go to jail over stuff like this, and if in fact it was a breach of the border police's protocol then I most certainly hope she will receive restitution.