Yossi Gurvitz

Yossi Gurvitz. (Ilya Melnikov)

Breaking the wall of denial: In memory of Yossi Gurvitz

Gurvitz revolutionized activist-journalism in Israel, blazing a path for many of us to challenge the mainstream discourse and speak out about the occupation.

By Noam Sheizaf February 21, 2023

A masked Jewish settler in front of Ma'on settlement, South Hebron hills, September 22, 2012. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

When remembering the Sabbath day enables settler violence

Settler violence on the Sabbath is not uncommon in the West Bank: Israeli civilians feel emboldened to attack Palestinians, knowing that law enforcement will refrain from taking serious action until the following week. By Yossi Gurvitz, for Yesh Din They came riding on a horse, two Israeli civilians armed with firearms. One of them jumped…

By +972 Magazine April 12, 2017

A Palestinian family sits in the remains of their demolished home in the West Bank village of Umm al-Kheir, April 6, 2016. (Wissam Hashlamon/Flash90)

Pushing Palestinians off their land — by pumping sewage onto it

Not content with ongoing demolitions in Umm al-Kheir and the destruction of its taboun, settlers in nearby Carmel have resorted to piping their waste onto the land belonging to the village. By Yossi Gurvitz, for Yesh Din The usual problem with reporting on what happens in the West Bank is lens width, an essential physical problem: you…

By +972 Magazine March 31, 2017

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Illustrative photo of masked IDF soldiers. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

When a Palestinian girl is shot and killed ‘by accident’

Samah Abdullah, 18, was in a car with her family when she was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers, dying three weeks later. The army claims it was an accident. By Yossi Gurvitz / Yesh Din Samah Abd Al-Muman Ahmed Abdullah, from the West Bank village of Amoriya, woke up on Monday, November 23rd…

By +972 Magazine January 23, 2017

IDF soldiers and police return a donkey stolen from Palestinians by settlers in Tapuach. (Photo: Yossi Gurvitz)

Caught red-handed: Settlers steal Palestinians’ donkey

Much of the Israeli public believes Palestinians lie constantly. This time, Yossi Gurvitz witnesses and documents evidence in real time. By Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz One of the problems with reporting what happens in the West Bank to the Israeli public is that it has grown accustomed to thinking that Palestinians lie. All of…

By +972 Magazine March 29, 2013

J14 and the rift between Israeli and international activists

Former allies in fight against occupation are battling over the meaning of the tent protest. Can the relationship be rescued, and should it be? The tent protest, also known as J14, already had an effect on many groups in Israeli society, forcing them to re-examine their political positions and alliances. And while we have yet…

By Noam Sheizaf August 30, 2011

Flickr-CC-Maggie Osama

ICP never backed oppression: Response to Yossi Gurvitz

This weekend, Yossi Gurvitz accused former MK Muhammad Naffa, secretary-general of the Communist Party of Israel of backing the suppression of the Syrian uprising. Uri Weltmann, a member of the Communist Party of Israel, denies these allegations and clarifies the party position below. Yossi Gurvitz replies to Uri Weltmann, here. By Uri Weltmann Reading Yossi Gurvitz’s…

By +972 Magazine June 19, 2011

Marlene Dietrich in Blue Angel, a renowned Weimar-era film.

Does Israel’s cultural life offer hope for its democracy?

Over at the Project Democracy blog, which I am writing for ACRI‘s democracy initiative, I responded to a post Mati Shemeolof wrote last week for +972 Magazine. Shemeolof describes his fellow bloggers’ gloom regarding the future of Israel’s democracy by putting forward the theory that the situation is not really all that bad. In his…

By Lisa Goldman November 10, 2010

Culture flourishes in a declining democracy (Mati Shemoelof)

Last week I was at a dinner with the North American management of Rabbis for Human Rights. They met with some of the +972 Magazine bloggers. The conversation was mainly about the decline of Israeli democracy. Yossi Gurvitz, Dimi Reider and others were very pessimistic about the survival of the Israeli democracy. They gave reports…

By +972 Magazine November 7, 2010

The brave soldier Gurvitz (by Yossi Gurvitz)

Originally posted on Yossi Gurvitz’s blog, Wish You Orwell: The Decline and Fall of the Israeli Democracy I wasn’t expecting much from the Israeli Defense Forces in August ’88, when I was drafted. To its credit, the IDF wasted no time in discouraging any expectations, of any kind. I was legally drafted to the IDF,…

By +972 Magazine August 18, 2010