Murder made in Israel

The articles posted here are:

1) Haaretz: Why Are Israelis So Startled by This Particular Murder? Zvi Bar’el doesn’t kid himself;
2) Inset on the arson at the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes;
3) Ynet: A new, extremely dangerous kind of Jewish fanaticism, Alex Fishman, sharing the delusion;
4) Ynet: It takes courage to deal with Jewish terroristsSmadar Perry urges Shin Bet to break through the collective delusion that it’s ‘them’ not ‘us’;
5) Notes and links: Unheeded previous warnings;

Jewish settlers, known as the Hilltop Youth, gather at an outpost at Itamar in the West Bank on Sept. 8, 2011. The youths were standing watch to see if Israeli security forces were coming to demolish the outpost. Photo by Jim Hollander/EPA/Landov

Why Are Israelis So Startled by This Particular Murder?

It’s hardly the first time that Jewish terrorists have struck. But this time the so-called ‘sane’ Israelis have understood something truly terrifying — about themselves.

Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz
August 04, 2015

Why has there been such a stormy response in Israel to the arson attack on the Dawabsheh family in the West Bank village of Duma? After all, harassment, attacks, and even murder of those who belong to a different community – Arab, gay, or just plain left – are nothing new in the Jewish state.

These Jewish terrorists didn’t land from Mars. They were and always will be Israeli-made, blue-and-white. You can start from whatever point you like – the murder of Emil Grunzweig at a Peace Now rally in 1983; the massacre at Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs in 1994, the murder of Arabs in Shfaram by soldier Eden Natan-Zada in 2005, or the burning to death of East Jerusalem teen Mohammed Abu Khdeir last year. The difference is that after each of those crimes the public found refuge or comfort in the protective collective.

Exceptions, wild weeds, the acts of individuals – that’s how the Jewish collective in Israel managed to avoid being branded with a mark of Cain. After all, in the Arab and Muslim collective, those who seek peace and quiet are the crazy exceptions in a mainstream culture that is murderous, whereas the Jews have a moral culture. Even when they are occupiers, it’s an “enlightened” occupation. This collective, like all collectives, will tell itself the boldest lies, will drink from the cup of self-righteousness until it chokes, and will smash any mirror that dares to suggest they are not the fairest ones of all.

But the collective was gradually sucked into the black hole of settlement, which has spawned a cultural and moral revolution. It began with fundamentalist evangelism, which abolished the territorial approach and cultivated the consciousness of the Land of Israel as an idea and not a state. It has no territorial borders and never will, because only God will set its borders.

The Judeo-Israeli collective that still clung to the Green Line believed that its secular-traditional nationalism would immunize it against the new messianism. Even after an enclave of Salafist Jews sprouted and flourished in the hills of Judea and Samaria [i.e. the oPt], they were regarded as curiosities, “propellers,” in the words of Yitzhak Rabin.

Mosques are a favourite target for the fire-bomb youth and their tags. This is an historic mosque in Bruqin, northern West Bank burned December 7, 2011. Settlers set up an outpost nearby, calling it Bruchin. Photo from Press TV

Even after the establishment of an autonomous district that houses more than half a million settlers, with special budgets and a private army of armed militias, and even after it was already clear that this alien controls the sovereign Jewish state, there was still this false belief that Israeli culture had strong moral foundations and would overcome any insanity.

The illusion that the Green Line is a strong barrier that separates the Judeo-Israeli culture from the settler culture persisted. “They” burn children and churches, uproot trees and break bones. “We” warn and condemn. After all, “we” still know how to distinguish between right and wrong.

But the territory, the budgets, and the gangs of thugs are only the beginning. Contrary to the usual process whereby a state sprouts from a nation, the settlers have established a state and a nation has sprouted up within it. The settler nation has a culture and language of its own, with unique morals and ethics, and a collective that gathers around intellectuals and rabbis, alongside “heroes” who murder and burn.

Bruchin, built on the hill above Palestinian Bruqin, now an official settlement in what Israelis call Samaria. It went from being an unauthorised outpost in 2004 to an ‘official’ settlement in 2012. Photo by Yehoshua Yosef

This is the reason for the fear that has suddenly gripped the Jewish-Israeli collective that lives within the Green Line. One may be able to withdraw from territories and evacuate communities, but the settler culture cannot be uprooted or stopped.

It’s not the burning of the Dawabsheh family that’s generating this fear, but the culture that led to it. And like a family member afraid that it has inherited a madness gene, the ostensibly sane, liberal and universal Israeli collective is terrified. After all, we were born into the same family, and we can no longer say that it’s only our crazy cousins who burn children.

The Dawabsheh family doesn’t need Israeli condolences. It’s those coming to offer them condolences who need compassion,as the signs of insanity in the family become undeniable.

Arson at Palestinian Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish in Tabgha.

“Police have arrested five hilltop activists who allegedly were behind the June 18 arson at the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha on the shores of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and police announced Wednesday afternoon that the suspects also have been involved in other hate crimes.

The arrests are a major victory against “price tag” vandals who have blackened the image of residents of Judea and Samaria, especially those who live in hilltop communities.” Jewish Press, July 2015
Photo by Meir Vaknin, Firefighting and Rescue Office, North County

A new, extremely dangerous kind of Jewish fanaticism

Analysis: The Shin Bet has been dealing in the past year with a radical group of young messianic Jews aiming to bring down the Zionist state and replace it with a holy kingdom. In order to fulfil their goal, they are willing to sacrifice their lives and have no problem killing.

By Alex Fishman, Op-Ed, Ynet news
August 03, 2015

What happened in the village of Duma wasn’t just another “price tag” operation of the ugly kind with which we have become familiar, which aims to take revenge against Arabs or deter the authorities from evacuating communities.

It turns out that in the past year, the Shin Bet – especially its Jewish Division – has been dealing with a new kind of cancer, violent and repulsive, which has surpassed its predecessor. We are talking about a group of young Jews which has adopted an ideological, anti-Zionist, fanatic and anarchistic common denominator, seeking to destroy the “state of the Zionists” (that’s their terminology) and establish a holy kingdom instead of it. The Shin Bet sees them as a terror organization for all intents and purposes, which is violently undermining he foundations of the Israeli society.

The murder in Duma characterizes the group’s ideological and operational perception. It wasn’t an act of revenge but one aimed at igniting a conflict between the people, setting the region on fire and bringing down the Zionist regime which is “delaying salvation.” In order to fulfill their goal, the group members are willing to sacrifice their lives and have no problem killing. It’s a small group which carries out particularly harsh terror attacks, as part of its revolutionary outlook.

There is no rabbinical authority there. They do not accept the rabbinical authority linked to the “price tag” hooligans – like Rabbi Yitzchak Ginzburg. On the other hand, rabbis like Ginzburg disagree with their ideology.

This group is made up of dozens of young people, some of them minors. The older ones are 22 or 23 years old. They come from all parts of the country and have no unique characteristics apart from the fact that they have all left their families and educational institutions and live in the Judea and Samaria hills [oPt]. They don’t have a permanent settlement point. Rather, they move from place to place on a daily basis.

Their operational doctrine can be found in a document authored by Moshe Orbach of Bnei Brak, who belongs to the group that torched the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish at Tabgha. Their ideology focuses on targeting the Israeli society’s weak spots in order to create chaos and bring it down.

They have marked five potential explosive points for themselves: Igniting a conflict at the Temple Mount, banishing gentiles (by torching Arab homes), eliminating idol worship (by torching churches and mosques), religious coercion and undermining the government system. They are not talking about armed activity like the Jewish Underground and are not using firearms for now. They create provocations and don’t hesitate to kill – a step up from the “price tag” activity, which focused on property.

Their first known operation was in December 2014, when they tried to torch a house in South Mount Hebron. The Shin Bet detained the perpetrators, but they were released under administrative restrictions. In February 2015, they tried to torch a church in Bethlehem, and in July they torched the church at Tabgha. Five were detained, but only two were prosecuted. Moshe Orbach was indicted.

The group was located by the Shin Bet, dozens of its members were called in for a deterrence talk, and some of them were subject to movement restrictions and ordered to spend the night at home. Some were even removed from the area. But without clear legal evidence, they were released.

This year alone, the Shin Bet has thwarted at least three terror attacks planned by this group – but only a very small number of indictments have been filed in light of restrictions on the Shin Bet’s ability to question civilians.

The cell which carried out the attack at the Bethlehem church was caught, but the evidence obtained so far has made it impossible to file charges. They are working on it: Administrative orders have been issued against the suspects, but the legal proceedings are moving very slowly and there is no longer any deterrence.

On Sunday, the Shin Bet asked the cabinet to allow the implementation of quick and adamant legal proceedings. Five indictments have been filed so far in 2015, and 22 were filed in 2014, most of them for “price tag” activities. But only three suspects have been arrested for arson and sentenced to two-three years in prison. It was the first time the Shin Bet succeeded in arresting “price tag” members, and they mostly have Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to thank for that, following his decision to define the activity as an “unauthorized organization,” which provided the Shin Bet with intensive tools. On Sunday, the Shin Bet demanded even more tools in order to eradicate this new insanity.

It takes courage to deal with Jewish terrorists

Israel must turn every stone, catch the people who burned Palestinian baby Ali Dawabsheh alive, prosecute them and destroy their homes. Unless our side makes a real move after they are caught, there will be fire.

By Smadar Perry, Ynet Op-Ed
August 03, 2015

It takes courage to catch them and give them the punishment they deserve. The people who burned Palestinian baby Ali Dawabsheh to death, scorched his four-year-old brother Ahmad and his parents Saad and Reham, who are fighting for their lives, have to pay. It’s a test for all of us.

Anyone who has any doubts should look for the chilling testimony of Ibrahim Dawabsheh, the neighbour from the adjacent house in the village of Duma. At 2 am he was busy talking to his fiancée on the phone, when he heard the yelling. He managed to see two masked people standing above their victims to confirm their deaths. The masked people tried to chase Ibrahim. Had he not escaped, he would have suffered a similar fate.

This time there must be no cover up. We must turn every stone, catch them, prosecute them and destroy their homes. Without a brave decision, once and for all, this affair will not calm down. There is no excuse in the world to justify the horror at the village of Duma.

So far, everything has been going according to routine: Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon condemned the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and the security organizations are working on the need to curb the other side’s revenge, to convince that “they” are not “us.”

Abbas is threatening to approach international institutions, while we are afraid of a third intifada. In the state of Tel Aviv I hear from young people that they are hopeless over what is happening here. In the state of the settlers, people are waiting to see what the Shin Bet will do. It’s not a simple situation. The pictures of 18-month-old Dawabsheh are circulating around the world. Unless our side makes a real move after the arsonists are caught, there will be fire.

Let’s not forget: We are the ones who invented the punishment of destroying terrorists’ homes. A Palestinian man or woman who launches an attack against Israelis takes into account that the punishment will arrive, that their family will pay. Granted, [with Jewish terrorists] rabbis will cry out and right-wing Knesset members will search for excuses, launch a “din rodef” (law of the pursuer,” permitting extrajudicial killings) against the legal system and the security organizations. And despite political pettiness, the person who telephoned Abbas on Friday night and ran to the hospital – and I believe that Netanyahu really is shocked – must take one step further and show that Israel knows how to deal with brave decisions.

All kinds of self-righteous people in Israel wrote on social media that we must not make generalizations, that we must remember that Palestinian terrorists have murdered Israeli babies and children in cold blood. I have the pictures of Jewish baby Shalhevet Pass and the children of the Fogel family fixed before my eyes. I haven’t forgotten. There is no forgiveness. I hope we are better than the other side. We carried a heavy baggage on our way to establish a state. We will never forget the revenge for the blood of a little child which has yet been devised by Satan.

In October 1985, Egyptian soldier Suleiman Khater murdered a group of Israeli tourists in Ras Burqa. When he was caught, the Egyptians rushed to declare him “insane” and sentenced him to life in prison. His imprisonment burdened the government, and one day he was found hanging in his cell.

In 1997, Jordanian soldier Ahmed Daqamseh murdered a group of Israeli high school girls who were on a trip in Naharayim. Jordan’s King Hussein cut short his visit to Spain and rushed to the mourners’ homes in Beit Shemesh, got down on his knees and asked for forgiveness. The opponents of peace are still, to this very day, calling for the murderer’s release. He was also declared “insane.”

Notes and links

Unheeded previous warnings

Israel Cracks Down on Radical ‘Hilltop Youth’, by NPR, JANUARY 09, 2012

Diskin Labels Hilltop Youth a Threat to Israel, Indy News Israel, MAY 05, 2011

Amos Oz: Hilltop youth are Hebrew neo-Nazis

The Israeli author says “price tag” attacks and their perpetrators are “a monster that should be called by its name.”, JPost, May 10th, 2014

US raps Israel inaction in dealing with hate crimes, Al Alam, May 2014.