Heidi Levine speaks out after settler attack that prompted US ambassador's break with Israel
Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, beaten by masked Israeli settlers during an olive harvest last Friday, said her flak jacket and helmet likely saved her life. Her account came after US ambassador Mike Huckabee denounced the attack on the journalist as a 'despicable act of terror', a rare US break with Israel over settler violence.
Heidi Levine speaks out after settler attack that prompted US ambassador's break with Israel
'They cracked my bones, they haven't cracked my spirit'
From her hospital bed, the 63-year-old award-winning journalist, who lives in Israel, has been giving her own account of what happened when masked Israeli settlers turned on Palestinians trying to harvest their olives last Friday, using clubs and other weapons. Levine was caught up in that assault and beaten for more than 10 minutes.
She is now recovering from hand surgery, broken ribs and other injuries. Speaking about the sustained beating, she described how protective gear she was wearing made the difference between life and death as the attackers kept kicking her.
Luckily, I had my flak jacket and helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn't even be here
Her message from hospital was one of defiance, aimed squarely at the people who beat her.
They cracked my bones, they haven't cracked my spirit.
Four decades covering the region
Levine's reaction carries the weight of a very long career. She said she had been covering the region for over 40 years, and that in all that time she had never seen the country in such a state.
That experience gives particular force to her shock at the response from Israel's leadership - a response she described in unusually personal terms.
Washington's ambassador calls it terror
The attack drew an extraordinary intervention from the United States' top diplomat in Israel. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee denounced the settler attack that left Levine badly beaten and needing surgery.
- Huckabee said attacking a female photographer was a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards
- He said the US had called for a full investigation, arrest, and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law for whoever participated
His words marked a clear public break with Israeli officialdom over how the assault on the journalist was being characterised - a rift that widened further when the prime minister spoke.
Netanyahu's 'alleged' wording
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned 'violence against anyone', but referred to the attack as 'alleged' and said its circumstances remained unclear.
For the woman who endured it, that caution cut deep. In a move Levine said left her 'shocked and insulted', the prime minister's framing treated as uncertain an attack she lived through for more than 10 minutes.
Levine remains in hospital recovering from hand surgery, broken ribs and other injuries, while Huckabee has called for a full investigation, arrest and prosecution of everyone who took part.
