Protective Gear Saved a Photojournalist During a Beating in the West Bank
She suffered four cracked vertebrae, a broken rib, and a hand injury that required surgery, and her son says he believes her helmet and vest protected her.
Global News Podcast · How will violent unrest influence France's election?In the videos, you can watch Heidi Levine hit the ground again and again. Levine, an American photojournalist for The Washington Post who has covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades, was working near a spot in the occupied West Bank last Friday where Palestinian farmers picking olives had also come under attack.
Her son, Michael Milner, says she was beaten there by Jewish settlers. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said "the facts surrounding the confrontation near Abu Falah during which the Washington Post photojournalist, Heidi Levine, was allegedly assaulted remain unclear and are under investigation."
Milner, who has stayed by her hospital bedside, said he sincerely believes the protective gear she wore that day saved her life. She had on her helmet and a flak jacket, a heavy vest meant to stop shrapnel and bullets. Milner said he believes they shielded her body through the repeated blows.
The injuries were still severe. After the attack, Levine was first taken to a hospital in Ramallah, but doctors there said they could not treat every injury and requested her transfer to Israel for further treatment. The next day, surgeons operated on her left hand, where flesh was missing, performing a skin graft and what doctors call a flap procedure, and the family is now waiting to see if she regains full mobility.
She has four fractures in her spine and a fractured rib, which make it difficult for her to move. Milner said it is hard for her "to get out of bed on her own." She has puncture wounds and many cuts, which doctors suspect came from some kind of bladed weapon but have not been able to identify for certain. Witnesses told Milner the attackers were using batons with nails in them, and he said he does not think she could have walked away from such blows without the vest.
It was a danger he had feared. Milner said he had warned her, "The settlers will be the ones that kill you."
For now, there is one small relief. The badly injured hand is her left, so Milner said it will not "affect her ability to operate her camera as much." And Milner said of his mother, "My mother is unstoppable, and she will continue doing her work."
Questions people ask
What is a flak jacket, and can it protect against a beating?
A flak jacket is a heavy, sleeveless vest originally designed to protect against fragments from explosions, and modern versions worn by journalists often include hard plates that can blunt blows and stabbing objects. It is not designed for sustained beating, but the thick layers and plates can spread force and prevent cuts and broken ribs from being worse. Helmets work similarly, spreading impact across the skull.