PJN Action Alert: Help Save Umm Al-Khair’s Soccer Field

Call Your Reps on behalf of the Children of Umm Al Khair to Prevent the Demolition of their Soccer Field

During our delegation’s visit to the Bedouin Palestinian village of Umm al‑Khair in the South Hebron Hills, we witnessed firsthand the community’s decades‑long struggle against land seizure and escalating settler violence. The families of Umm al‑Khair, all refugees from the 1948 Nakba, have endured the ever-expanding encroachment of the nearby Carmel settlement since its beginnings as a military outpost in 1980, losing their grazing land, thousands of livestock, and access to water and electricity. Demolitions that began in 2007 have intensified, and by 2025 the village was entirely surrounded by caravans and settlement structures. Last summer, after weeks of attacks, settler Yinon Levi—sanctioned internationally for repeated violence—destroyed water pipes and trees before assaulting Ahmad Hathaleen with an excavator and shooting his cousin Awdah, a beloved teacher and organizer featured in No Other Land. Awdah’s death left behind a grieving family and a village forced to hunger‑strike simply to retrieve his body, while Levi was released back into the community. Even the children’s playground and modest soccer field—where we played during our visit—carry demolition orders, and settlers have ringed the field with Israeli flags as yet another claim to the land.

Sadly, during our soccer game with the children, the ball went out of bounds, landing on the other side of the concertina wire installed by the settlers surrounding the field. The children were too afraid to go retrieve the ball and our game suddenly ended. Still, the people of Umm al‑Khair remain unwavering in their SUMUD, holding fast to patience and hope, just as Awdah urged before he was killed. Since we returned the villagers added a synthetic turf to the soccer field, which is dedicated in Awdah’s memory, but the settlers called attention to this and the military have placed a demolition order on the field itself, saying it is an illegal building, even though nothing was built. Now, the villagers are raising international awareness to try to save the soccer field for the youth of Umm al-Khair.

Use the call script below to advocate to save the soccer field for the youth of Umm al-Khair.

Hello, my name is [Name] and I live in [City]. I am calling as a concerned constituent. I need [Representative’s name]’s help to stop the demolition of the soccer field in the village of Umm Al Khair in the South Hebron Hills in the West Bank.

Umm Al Khair, a Palestinian village located adjacent to an Israeli settlement, faces near-daily attacks. It was home to peace activist Awdah Hathaleen, featured in the Oscar-winning film No Other Land, who was shot and killed by settler Yinon Levi in July 2025. After two years of playing soccer on unsafe, rocky ground, last month the community installed synthetic turf to create a secure space for children. The field was completed in Hathaleen’s memory. On the day the turf was laid, settlers brought the army and police to the village four times, claiming construction was taking place. Villagers explained they were not building—only laying turf. That night, settlers blocked village roads and planted Israeli flags around the new field.

Two weeks after completion, Israeli authorities issued a demolition order against the field. A right-wing NGO, Regavim—cofounded by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has publicly advocated for the annihilation of Palestinians—produced and circulated a video about the field, prompting additional settler demonstrations. The villagers fear that without international pressure, the field—the only safe play space for their children—will soon be destroyed.

This situation is especially troubling because Minister Smotrich, Regavim’s co-founder is responsible for enforcing demolition orders, creating a serious conflict of interest. Diplomatic engagement, including by the U.S. State Department last year, helped provide some protection against demolition orders for the community. Intervention from offices like yours may now be essential to prevent the demolition.

My requests:

1. Urge the U.S. State Department and the Israeli Embassy to call on the Israeli government to withdraw the demolition orders against the Umm Al Khair playing field.

2. Because of the conflict of interest concerns involving Minister Smotrich, request special protection for all West Bank villages facing demolition orders, including Umm Al Khair.

3. Request that Minister Smotrich be disqualified from involvement in implementing demolition orders against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to hearing what you learn from your calls.