The Death of Saif Mussallet and the Pain of Belonging Nowhere
Saif Mussallet was supposed to be home in Tampa this week. He had plans for his new ice cream shop on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, “Ice SSSScreamin” a bright, silly name for a sweet dream. He had hoped to expand it into a chain, maybe become a young entrepreneur success story. He liked comedy, loved his grandmother and was building a future he was proud of. Instead, his family is grieving the brutal reality that Saif, a 25-year-old Palestinian American, was murdered in the West Bank and left to die in his younger brother’s arms. On July 13, Saif was killed by a mob of Israeli settlers while visiting his ancestral land in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah. According to his family, he had gone there to visit relatives and possibly meet his future wife. But while trying to protect his family’s land, he found himself surrounded by settlers who violently assaulted him. For over three hours, they blocked paramedics and ambulances from reaching him. Israeli soldiers were present a...