Yesterday we shared the story of Dr Adnan al-Bursh who died from injuries sustained during his time in Israeli prison. His case highlights the brutality of the Israeli prison system and its routine use of torture. Torture and the most horrendous forms of abuse have become everyday practice in Israeli prisons for decades and in the past year the violence and abuse of detainees has massively increased alongside the bombardment of Gaza.

His case also highlights the way in which healthcare workers have been increasingly targeted and the risks that medical staff take every day as they continue to do their work saving lives in Gaza. On Friday we saw the detention of another healthcare worker, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya along with dozens of medical staff from Kamal Adwan Hospital. His whereabouts is still unknown.

Today’s activities explore the use of torture in detention and consider what it means to show this commitment to duty in the face of extreme risk. Children are asked to write an acrostic poem connecting to the values shown by healthcare workers in Gaza.

Torture and the treatment of detainees in Israeli prison is an incredibly difficult topic to discuss with young people. We only recommend the second activity for teenagers and please take time to look through the suggested resource from Amnesty International to make sure it is appropriate for your young person.

If your young person has additional questions that you are unable to answer feel free to email us at parentsforpalestine@gmail.com and we will do our best to answer them.

Free Palestine

IMAGE: https://www.instagram.com/palestinianyouthmovement/p/DEJDA0UP0_e/