These are the three American daughters of Ziad al-Jilani, who was killed Friday night in Jerusalem after praying, when he came too close to a "flying checkpoint" maintained by the Israelis, who shot him. The al-Jilani family has said that he lost control of his car amid rock-throwing; they have called for a full investigation of his killing.
Iman al-Jilani, the girls’ aunt, writes: "Hannah is on the left and she is 17, Mirage on the right and she is 15, and the youngest is Yasmeen and she is 7 years old." They are all American citizens, as is their mother, Moira, who is now a widow. They have Jerusalem residency but are not citizens of Israel.
The Israelis have characterized Ziad al-Jilani as a terrorist.
The family says that Ziad al-Jilani, 40, was planning to take his girls to dinner after he prayed. I wonder how many American politicians will speak up for these young constituents, and demand answers…
Oh and al-Jilani’s sister just sent me this photo of father and daughters riding. I wonder: What will it take to wake Americans to the anti-Arab racism of our policies in the Middle East? A wholesome family? There are countless families of that description in the occupied territories. Some of them just don’t look like the kids next door…