Who knew that the physics of rocks varies per location? Who knew that there are hard rocks and soft rocks? Who knew that a rock in one place could kill someone but not in another place? Who knew that throwing a rock in Colorado could land you in prison for first-degree murder while throwing a rock on the West Bank could land you in a headline?
So it is, hard rocks and soft rocks.
Here is an example of hard rocks.
Joseph Koenig, a Colorado teenager, was convicted last April 25 of first-degree murder, plus 60 years, for throwing a rock through the windshield of a passing vehicle, killing its driver, Alexa Bartell. She was 20. First-degree murder in Colorado carries a life sentence without possibility of parole. A hard rock indeed.
Here is an example of soft rocks.
I need to back into this. Sayfollah Musallet, a 21-year-old American from Florida who was visiting his Palestinian family on the West Bank, died in a violent confrontation there.
His family says he was beaten to death by Jewish settlers, who were masked, and that the IDF prevented an ambulance from reaching him. The Israel Defense Forces say they are investigating the incident. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has asked Israel to “aggressively investigate.” The IDF says an incident became a violent clash that included vandalism of Palestinian property, arson and physical clashes.
Now, let’s back up. Amidst an incident about which so much is unclear, one thing becomes perfectly clear: soft rocks.
Here is the unclarity: the exact sequence of events, who provoked whom, and whether the victim was killed out of self-defense or beaten to death. It would take a court of law, with full discovery and witnesses under oath, to unravel all this. But yes, one thing is perfectly clear:
The IDF says the violence began with Palestinians, perhaps including Musallet, throwing rocks. The Palestinian side says that settlers threw rocks at vehicles attempting to reach the wounded Musallet. Reuters says it cannot verify either side; but, based not necessarily on this particular incident, both sides apparently believe in soft rocks. They are picked up and thrown as if it’s only the likes of shootings that inflict harm and inflame the West Bank.
The prevention of future incidents like the one in which Musallet died cannot focus only on shooting deaths. There are no soft rocks. To throw a rock is to provoke a fight — and potentially to end the fight in the death of the rock’s target, be it on the Palestinian or the Jewish side.
Last year, an AP report said, “The [Palestinian] teenagers had been jailed for minor offenses like rock throwing.” Rock-throwing is long a Palestinian methodology, and why not, if it’s deemed only a “minor offense?”
Certainly not in Colorado.
We did not hear that we must “understand” the rock murderer, the teenager Joseph Koenig.
We did not hear that we must sympathize with the ideology of the rock murderer Joseph Koenig.
We did not hear that the police who investigated or arrested him were wrong.
We did not hear that incursion of the police into the criminal’s space was unwise because this would just cause others to pick up their own rocks and hurl them.
Quite the contrary. What we heard was this: moral outrage. It filled metro Denver over the young, innocent Alexa Bartell’s death. The moral outrage was heard from citizens, prosecutors, politicians, police, all levels and segments of local society. The fact that the murderer was 17, and the fact that his weapon was “only” a rock, did not change the moral calculus. Hard rocks.
The judge said at the sentencing:
“The community, state, nation and maybe others got to hear about how Alexa Bartell lived her life, loved her community, stood for her family and even blessed those who cursed her and prayed for those who mistreated her. Maybe we’re all a little better for having known her, even a little bit, even if it’s been because of this tremendously difficult court case.”
Not difficult for the AP, with its “minor offense” of rock throwing. For the AP, there are only soft rocks.
In Colorado, when someone intentionally throws a rock at a vehicle, there is something utterly transparent about the crudity and malice of the act. So, too, intentionally throwing a rock directly at a human being, whoever it is.
Hard rocks and moral outrage.
Soft rocks and “minor offenses.”
Hard rocks in Colorado.
Soft rocks on the West Bank.
Rock throwing is like the speed of light. It is a constant. No condition can change it. There are only hard rocks. Their physics do not vary.
Remember the Second Palestinian Intifada? It began on Rosh Hashanah at the Western Wall in the year 2000. Palestinians threw rocks over the top of the Wall at Jewish worshippers below. Lots of rocks, which they had stockpiled long in advance. The Second Intifada killed eventually 1,000 Israeli Jewish civilians in terrorist attacks.
Rocks have long been a favored weapon among those Palestinians who do not want peace, but who do want to harm Israelis. As a teenager, Joseph Koenig was charged separately for each rock he threw besides the one that killed Alexa Bartell. The charge was attempted murder; hardly a “minor offense.”
It is charged, not yet proven or disproven, that Israeli Jews adopted the rock-throwing tactic surrounding the death of Musallet. G-d forbid that Jews adopt this tactic.
© IJN 2025
