Emily Henochowicz wasn’t thinking about protests or Palestinians or tear
gas canisters when she went to Israel in February for a one-semester
college exchange program.
The 21-year-old art student from Montgomery County wanted to study
animation, and Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy had a good program.
It was a plus to spend time in Israel. Henochowicz grew up in an
observant Jewish household and had her bat mitzvah at Potomac’s Har
Shalom synagogue. Her father was born in Tel Aviv, and his parents are
Polish Holocaust survivors.
But Henochowicz became critical of Israel in the spring, after
accompanying a friend to a demonstration in East Jerusalem against the
eviction of Palestinian families. Very quickly, she began participating
regularly in protests against Israeli policies, especially the expansion
of Jewish settlements on the West Bank.
“I decided that I was not just going to talk about this. I’m going to do
something about it,” she said.
Henochowicz prided herself on being nonviolent, but she knew the
protests were risky. One was “like a war zone, it was so scary,” she
said.
The dangers caught up with her on May 31. During a demonstration at the
West Bank checkpoint at Qalandia, Henochowicz was struck in the face by a
tear gas canister fired by Israeli security forces. She lost her left
eye, and her jaw…
