On Saturday, April 12^th, 2025, Passover Seder night, accompaniers spent it here, whether as protest against the false declaration of this holiday as one of exiting from slavery into liberty, in the present reality only for Jews, or just as an escape from the sticky holiday atmosphere.

All morning shifts arrived at Farisiya at 7 a.m. and joined the shepherd accompaniers:

Two teams went with shepherds from Ein Al Hilwa. One went with Z. to the hills. At some point a military jeep stopped beside them and the accompaniers had no time to approach it. The soldiers took pictures and left without harassing the shepherd. The grazing ended peacefully at 10 a.m.

Gazing with F. who went far into the hills looking for green grass also ended peacefully.

An accompanier couple went with H. from 8 to 12 noon all the way to Ein Al Sheq. The sheep stop there to drink spring water that has not yet been blocked by the occupation authorities, and grazing ended peacefully.

In Farisiya itself was a team for “protective presence”. They passed time visiting families, drinking much coffee and tea and talking about everyday life. Naturally settlers from the outpost Tene Yaroq (green basket…) were not missing from the conversation; they harass the village daily in various ways, arriving and sitting on the bench near the flag on the opposite hill, or running their tractor inside the Palestinian locality, scaring children and adults. Or grazing near the solar panels and water tanks, when there is always the threat that they destroy both. One cannot complain about this to the police that insists that these are state lands.

So the shepherds are left to fend for themselves and they can only tell us about it.

The children, aged 8 to 12 played reality games. They tied one of them to a pole with a rope and yelled at him. When we joined the game, and wanted to hear what they were yelling about, they answered: Go away, he’s a terrorist!

War is Palestinian children’s present reality from the moment they know what’s going on.

At 11 a.m. we were called by S., the shepherdess. She was already home and found settlers walking around and was afraid they would steal kids from the goat pen. Two of us who were already back in Farisiya resting, hurried over there but the settlers had already kept their distance and walked over to Bentzi’s outpost, located close to the shepherdess’ encampment. This is a small example showing how the Palestinians are kept in constant tension, not knowing what will happen in a moment and when the settlers’ walking around will become physically violent or another robbery of flocks.

At 4 p.m. more accompaniers came and joined the afternoon grazing session. Two of them accompanied I. and two stayed in Farisiya.

But there is no dull moment in the Palestinian Jordan Valley. At 5 p.m. we were called from Ein Al Hilwa: settlers in Sabbath garb were walking around the shepherds’ encampments. Accompaniers drove there quickly and saw four young settlers, a 10-year old child among them, walking around among the encampments. There was the far that they would come down, approach the pens and try to steal young goats (kids), but they continued to the hill. The shepherd suggested we drive to shepherdess Z. further on the hill. We already saw the four settlers chase the shepherdess and her flock home. The shepherdess returned home slowly, letting her sheep eat the rest of the grass.

The settlers did not let up. They continued their Sabbath walk, going down through the eastern encampments of F. and his sister, to Ein Al Hilwa spring. The settlers’ mere presence created an atmosphere of fear and horror.

Wishing to calm things down, we sat at F.’s who lives alone. We were invited for tea with another two neighbors. The subject was repeated again and again: why were they being harassed by the settlers? Isn’t there room enough for everyone? And the rhymed answer in Arabic: Hek il ihtilal, mush istiklal – This is occupation, not independence.

Both original and translation are dissonant physically as well as mentally.

At 6 p.m. we went back to Farisiya. Two teams remained to spend the night at Ein Al Hilwa and at Farisiya. The night passed uneventfully.