“Dignity and desecration.”

The story of a village mosque. Most Americans will never hear it.

Vandalizing a mosque. 8 February 2026. (With permission.)

11 FEBRUARY—Texts arrived from a West Bank friend on Sunday afternoon, 8 February. Adnan al–Abayat, a frequent source of these Alerts, sent videos and photographs showing Jewish settlers vandalizing a small rural mosque in the governorate of Bethlehem.

Each attack and provocation of this kind by settlers or soldiers is an intentional escalation in the Zionist project to force Palestinians from their land—to make life so impossible and miserable that they leave.

Here is Adnan’s text:

In a new and dangerous move, settlers this Sunday afternoon brought their sheep onto the land of the old mosque’s endowment and vandalized it. The mosque was desecrated by the settlers and their sheep. Prayer carpets were stolen and numerous copies of the Qur`an were burned.

The banality of desecration. Near Kisan, 8 February. (With permission.)

The mosque, more than fifty years old, is located between Adnan’s village of Kisan—located 15 kilometers southeast of Bethlehem—and al–Minya, one and a half kilometers to the north of Kisan. It serves both communities and is used during the holy month of Ramadan and each week for salat al-jum`ah, the Friday afternoon sermon and prayer—mandatory for Muslim men.

The mosque, circled in red. (This map includes data from: Google, Airbus, Mapa GISrael. Imagery from the dates: 9/15/2025.)

The vandals can be seen in the following video—three settlers near an all-terrain vehicle with a flock of sheep to their left. The Zionist regime provides settlers with ATVs knowing they are used—indeed, intending them to be used—to harass and attack Palestinian shepherds and communities.

Uppermost in my mind on Sunday afternoon: No Palestinian Christian or Muslim would desecrate a Jewish synagogue in this or any other fashion. Of that I am certain. They have far too much respect for Judaism to violate or befoul sacred Jewish space.

There are no limits to the depraved and self-serving behavior of the Zionist occupiers in the land of Palestine. This is true for settlers, soldiers, politicians, and, sadly, also a majority of Israeli Jews. Such is the poison of racism and Jewish supremacism.

Israelis defile Judaism and destroy themselves with each act of violence, oppression, and humiliation committed against the indigenous people of Palestine. This is a sad and terrible thing to watch. But we must watch it, bearing witness.

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It strikes me as a coincidence worth mentioning, a juxtaposition much worth considering, that on the very same Sunday Adnan recorded these events more than one-third of Americans, an average of 125 million people, watched the Super Bowl. Viewership peaked in the second quarter, when 137.8 million people tuned in. In the final days before the game, tickets went for an average price of $3,500 to $4,500. Prime seats in the lower levels sold for $40,000. V.I.P. seats were available for $60,000.

I am compelled to mention this spectacle, unrelated as it may seem. This extravaganza of consumerism and corporatized entertainment is a significant national event, if you don’t choke on that thought. I did not watch the game; figuratively speaking, I watched people watching the game. I noted, as I do each year, the curious national obsession with this sporting event. And then the text and videos came from Adnan. The unrelated instantly seemed to me related.

To my question, Why is the Super Bowl an important national cultural event?, A.I. provided a reply revealing for what it says about the state of American decline.

The Super Bowl is a premier American cultural event, acting as an unofficial national holiday that transcends sports by merging entertainment, advertising, and community. It serves as a unifying . . . spectacle that brings diverse audiences together, highlights American values, and showcases top-tier musical performances and commercials.

How far America has fallen that entertainment and advertising substitute for genuine community. But, taking this a little further, this sideshow serves a greater purpose.

As attention in America focused on the Super Bowl, a fleet of U.S. warships assembled in the eastern Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf—Trump’s big, beautiful armada—preparing to launch a military strike on Iran, a country that is in no way a threat to the United States. Bibi Netanyahu is even now meeting with Trump, by all appearances to urge the attack— which will be a gross violation of international law that will undermine U.S. security and whatever legitimacy the country might still enjoy. Israel gives the orders and hastens America’s decline. Who needs enemies?

As America’s downward slide accelerates and our basic civil liberties are eroded, bread and circuses are ever more important. Entertainment and distraction. From the Super Bowl to our every military aggression.

In the West Bank, holding onto life, family, and community—and let’s add “Palestinian values”—is an everyday struggle. But life in Occupied Palestine, however difficult and tenuous it is, is anything but trivial. Perhaps for that reason the people retain their dignity.

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