Source: The San Francisco Chronicle
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Rabbi-working-to-stop-the-violence-He-left-East-2776827.php
On May 19, 2004 The San Francisco Chronicle reported, "Rabbi Arik Ascherman has looked at the razed homes and rising violence in the Gaza Strip from the other side of the gun barrel and bulldozer blade. As executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights, Ascherman faces trial in Israel for putting his body on the line to stop the destruction of Palestinian homes by Israeli security forces. 'We want the Palestinians to know that not every Israeli comes to Gaza to destroy their homes,' said Ascherman, a former East Bay rabbi and current leader of the Jerusalem-based human rights group. 'Some come to stand shoulder to shoulder to help them rebuild.' Over the past few days, Israeli tanks and bulldozers have rolled into the Rafah refugee camp near the Egyptian border, destroying scores of homes and killing 19 Palestinians. The Israeli government says the new incursion -- which follows last week's killing of five Israeli soldiers by Palestinian militants in Gaza -- is designed to stop arms smuggling and create a wider buffer zone along the border. Ascherman, who lives in Jerusalem with his wife and two young children, has been watching the latest round of violence from the Bay Area, where he is finishing up a week of speaking engagements at synagogues and Jewish community centers."