Witnessing Ethnic Cleansing and Resistance in the West Bank

Two former Mainers recently returned from the West Bank will speak about their experiences at The Apohadian Theater, 107 Hanover St., in Portland, ME on Wednesday, September 24 from 6:30-8PM.

Melody Shank and Ken Jones were in the West Bank region of Palestine in spring 2025 to witness Israel’s ethnic cleansing there. The event is sponsored by Peaceworks of Greater Brunswick, Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights, and the Maine Coalition for Palestine.

Shank and Jones are retired professors of teacher education at the University of Southern Maine who now live in Asheville, North Carolina and organize with Reject Raytheon AVL.

According to Jones, “On a daily basis, Palestinian homes are demolished, their land is stolen, their homes invaded, their loved ones dragged off to be tortured in prisons. Their very presence is made precarious by constant harassment and humiliation from the Israeli army and violent armed settlers.”

The two were part of a delegation in Hebron with Community Peacemaker Teams, an organization with the goal of witnessing and documenting events where Palestinians are threatened with violence.

“The genocide in Gaza has been front and center in the struggle for human rights for Palestinians, and rightly so,” said Jones. “Every day we see Israel’s bombing, sniping, imprisoning, and starving of the civilian population. Less visible, but also deadly and inhumane are the military occupation and settlement in the West Bank.”

(2) Instagram / @space4peace

Source: Witnessing Ethnic Cleansing and Resistance in the West Bank — Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights