In fall 2024, Eli Newell (Communication ’18), a Rabbinic-Cantorial student and organizer, traveled to Burin, a village in the northern West Bank, during the region’s olive harvest. There, Newell said he worked with families, farmers and activists to protect Palestinian land from Israeli settler attacks.
Throughout his time in the West Bank, Newell said he witnessed the destruction and vandalism of Palestinian homes and attackers burning olive groves and beating Palestinian community members — attacks which he said have “stark” parallels to the “violence of unlawful and tyrannical (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) activity here in the U.S. today.”
“As we’ve heard many, many times, cruelty really is the point,” Newell said.
Newell spoke about his experiences at an event titled “From the West Bank to ICE” hosted by Evanston for a Free Palestine and the Lake Street Church of Evanston’s Peace and Justice Committee, among other organizations, Sunday afternoon.
The event assembled Evanston-based organizers and community members to discuss similarities and alleged collaborations between ICE and Israeli forces in the West Bank.
The West Bank, Israel and ICE
Newell explained to attendees that since October 2023 there has been a “complete breaking down” of the line between different Israeli government and military entities in the West Bank. He called this development “resonant,” considering the “chaos happening on the ground” in the U.S.
He added such similarities can be drawn because U.S. law enforcement agencies like the National Guard, ICE and state police work “not exactly in partnership, but alongside one another.”
“There is a status quo that’s being protected by all of these agencies, whether they’re doing it in deep coordination or not,” Newell said. “This is true of the reality in the West Bank, in Palestine, in Gaza.”
Newell’s 2024 trip to the West Bank wasn’t his first time in the region. While growing up in Minnesota, Newell said he was educated into a “pretty strong liberal Zionism,” adding that he knew the Israeli national anthem before he knew the Star Spangled Banner by heart. In high school, he attended an immersive learning study abroad program in Israel, Newell added.
Newell told The Daily he was motivated to work in the West Bank because of the “long tradition” of Jewish activists who have “built relationships with Palestinians.” He added that his faith is a “Judaism of safety through solidarity.”
For Newell, similarities between the experiences of Palestinians in the West Bank and those subject to ICE activity remain relevant. Sunday’s event came one day after Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, was shot and killed by ICE agents in the city, Newell’s hometown.
Pretti’s killing came just weeks after the killing of another Minneapolis resident, Renee Nicole Good, nearby.
“At once I am shattered, and I’m also not allowing myself to be broken by it,” Newell said. “I look towards folks on the front lines that are really holding their roles … and building connection and solidarity and bridging through networks of care.”
Pretti’s killing sparked nationwide protests against federal immigration agencies over the weekend. In Evanston, community members gathered at a vigil for Pretti Sunday evening.
According to Newell, the response to the shooting in communities across the country reminded him of “those same networks of support” on display the moment he arrived on Palestinian land in the West Bank.
“I could really see not just the echoes and the similarities of violent tactics, but more importantly, the impact of systems of resilience, survival and camaraderie that allow for people to coordinate together, to better each other’s lives and to also look out for each other’s safety,” Newell said.
Judith Roeder (SESP ’21), a member of Evanston for a Free Palestine, also spoke about alleged connections between ICE and Israel, including an ICE field office in Tel Aviv and ICE’s access to technology from Paragon Solutions, an Israeli spyware company. The Trump administration reentered a contract with Paragon in August.
Federal immigration enforcement in the Chicago area
LSC’s Rev. Michael Woolf, another speaker at the event, was arrested protesting outside of the ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois in November. As Newell drew parallels between ICE’s treatment of immigrants and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, Woolf called the conditions at the Broadview “absolutely filthy.”
He alleged the facility was overcrowded, lacked working showers, had minimal medical care and that its agents disregarded formal procedures.
Outside the facility, Woolf said he experienced violence from federal agents.
“They grabbed my neck and choked me a little bit,” he said. “I don’t think they teach that in any sort of manual, but there’s impunity with which people are acting.”
Referencing reporting from The Daily during a slideshow presentation, Roeder said federal agents utilize surveillance methods, including body cameras, Meta smart glasses and head-mounted GoPros, which Woolf added catalog people who “directly challenge ICE authority.”
David, who asked to be referred to only by his first name, said he works with Lucy Parsons Labs, a MacArthur Foundation grantee that aims to “expose the surveillance overreach by governments,” according to the lab’s website.
Speaking at the event, David outlined current surveillance methods used throughout Evanston.
“There is a history and legacy of this technology being used against people,” David said. “Now we have these surveillance weapons on our streets.”
He pointed to the city’s recently approved $5.8 million contract with Axon Enterprise Inc., which includes updated body cameras, fleet vehicle cameras and drone systems as examples of “weapons in Evanston that are pointing against us.”
Under the Illinois Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act, all law enforcement officers in the city must wear body cameras while on duty.
After hearing from the event’s speakers, Chicago resident Roy Zhu (Weinberg ’25), who participated in pro-Palestinian protests at Northwestern in 2024, recalled surveillance on campus.
“I think my main takeaway was how interconnected the issues of the surveillance and abductions by ICE and Border Patrol are with the surveillance that was used against student protesters on campus,” Zhu said.
Although he said any form of surveillance is “oppressive,” Zhu noted what they considered the uniquely harsh treatment of immigrants and anti-ICE protesters.
Another attendee, State Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago), who is running for Congress in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, said he came to the event “to be in community with the people.”
Simmons added he learned more about various surveillance methods and “digital hygiene” from conversations with attendees.
“When fascism is taking over our country, when ICE has been turned into a Gestapo for Donald Trump, it is important for people in power like myself to be with the community as they express outrage about ICE,” he said.
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Border Patrol covertly filmed Dec. 17 protesters with Meta smart glasses, Daily analysis finds
— Four individuals face charges for April’s pro-Palestine encampment
— ‘Get the f—k out of our cities’: Community members hold vigil to honor Minnesota woman killed by ICE
