On the hillside of the town of Silwan, just outside Jerusalem’s old city walls, Palestinians have painted murals of eyes on their homes.
This community, like many others in Palestine, is threatened by continued Israeli settlement expansion, house demolitions, and seizure of their lands. All of this is financed and supported by our government.
The eye murals ask the visitor to see a reality that many choose to ignore: Palestinian families’ connection to their ancestral lands threatened by unjust laws and state sponsored violence. Indeed, any day now an additional 35 families will be evicted from their homes in Silwan, replaced by Israeli settlers. 1,000 more Palestinian families in Jerusalem face this same threat.
It is hard to witness the daily realities in Palestine. This witness has become particularly difficult in the past few years, when the Israeli army destruction has escalated to wipe out entire families and their physical presence, particularly in Gaza.
Our eyes have grown weary watching our media feeds.
Hospitals, schools, apartment buildings, playgrounds, orchards, even tent shelters are blown apart by US bombs in Gaza. We have seen parents collect the remains of their children’s body parts. Children cry out as their limbs are amputated without pain medicine. Doctors beg to restore electricity and restock supplies and equipment destroyed by bombs. Mothers plead for food to feed their newborns or for shelter to protect their children from the cold rains or oppressive heat. Fathers are shot by snipers as they carry home a sack of flour. Children search through the rubble of their homes to find a school book or their favorite teddy bear.
We are not the only ones watching this misery.
Other eyes are documenting this destruction. But these eyes are assisting in creating more targets for the Israeli and US militaries. The artificial intelligence eyes, or tools of Palantir technology, are collecting data on Palestinians. Palantir CEO Alex Karp said in February 2026, “our weapons software is in every combat situation I'm aware of" and has boasted that he is “proud that we are supporting Israel in every way we can.”
Do more than 72,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza, 1000 in the West Bank since October 2023, and now in just this past week 300+ killed in Lebanon, and 1300+ in Iran, really support Israel?
We do know that the use of this deadly technology supports the profit margins of companies like Palantir.
And sadly, we know that these “battle tested” technologies are now available for use by autocratic regimes and agents of repression, including by US agencies like ICE who are terrorizing our communities in the United States.
Some Americans – not people gathered here today of course – say that they are tired of looking at the depressing news. They feel pity for those in Gaza and Palestine, but don’t see a way to change what is happening. They may not know how artificial intelligence is toxic, as it is used to hunt people down, detain, and kill. Some Americans may not realize that people across the ocean, and in their own communities, need their witness and action to stop the destruction of lives.
What can we do to motivate others toward action?
First, it is up to us to overcome depressing news. We can do that by uplifting stories of communities resisting the deadly and dehumanizing work of militaries and corporate profiteers.
Second, as we used to say during the 2003 US war on Iraq, we need to keep our eyes wide open. We must remain witnesses to the devastation, no matter how weary we feel. We must challenge companies like Palantir when they assist in that devastation.
Finally, we must use our strength in community to build a better world, where schools and hospitals are not bombing targets, where families are not torn apart, and where all lives are cherished.
May we see a future where we can gather at times of Ramadan, Easter, and Passover to celebrate our liberation from the forces that surveil and kill. On the hillside of the town of Silwan, just outside Jerusalem’s old city walls, Palestinians have painted murals of eyes on their homes. May our eyes be like those eyes … May we be steadfast in our witness, and in our actions, for justice and peace.