Diaspora Jews, if you care about Israel – fight Jewish terrorism

Yasmin al-Tirawi and her children walk around their house, set on fire by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Burin on 3 February 2025

Yiftah Elazar, Inbal Arnon, Abigail Jacobson and Oded Steinberg write in Haaretz on 5 April 2026:

Like many liberal academics in Israel, we have long known that Jewish settlers were using the cover of war in Gaza to carry out thousands of violent attacks on rural Palestinian communities in the West Bank, with the goal of displacing them and expanding settlements. Until recently, however, our attention was directed elsewhere.

We had taken to the streets to oppose the Netanyahu government’s assault on the judiciary. We were consumed by Hamas’ horrific October 7 massacre and by Israel’s disproportionate and devastating response to it in Gaza. Meanwhile, only a small number of brave activists and organizations consistently confronted the rising tide of settler violence in the West Bank.

Ironically and sadly, the war with Iran has changed that. Whether intoxicated by the fervor of conflict or seeking to exploit the wartime confusion, violent settlers have dramatically escalated their attacks on Palestinians in recent weeks. Haunting reports have emerged from the West Bank, like that of the settler assault in Khirbet Humsa, which reportedly involved beating up young girls and sexually assaulting a Palestinian man in front of his family.

The unintended consequence has been to mobilize liberal Israelis like us to join the cause of fighting what can only be described as Jewish terrorism: the use of violence to advance the ideological goal of displacing Palestinian rural communities and taking over their lands.

One of our first actions was organizing a petition signed by over 600 academics from most academic institutions in Israel, urging the international community to protect Palestinian communities and hold perpetrators of violence accountable. The petition calls for “far-reaching measures against individuals and entities involved in acts of violence and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.”

While it does not specify which far-reaching measures should be taken, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently advocated for intervention by the International Criminal Court, and several governments – including those of the U.S. and EU – imposed targeted sanctions in recent years on individuals and entities involved in settler violence.

Our petition joins a wave of other petitions on this topic, signaling growing outrage in Israeli society, but is distinctive in bringing the question of international involvement to the forefront. We were worried that not many academics in Israel would join this call for action. We were wrong. The petition was signed by many, including very senior Israeli academics. This reflects an increasing awareness that meaningful resistance to the ongoing violence requires coordinated action with allies abroad.

Joint Israeli and international action is needed because the role Netanyahu’s government plays in facilitating settler violence makes it unwilling and unlikely to take meaningful action. Jewish terrorism is not a bug but a feature of this government, which is ideologically committed to settlement expansion, de facto annexation of the West Bank, and displacement of Palestinian communities in pursuit of these goals. Jewish terrorism functions as part of its toolkit, with some of its supporters serving as ministers in the government.

Accordingly, state authorities provide violent settlers with infrastructure and logistical support, while allowing them to act with impunity. Although some officials have recently begun to pay lip service to curbing such violence, meaningful action is likely to emerge only under extreme pressure.

Ideally, that pressure should come from within Israeli society. Indeed, public concern about settler violence appears to be growing. A recent poll indicates that a majority of Jewish citizens of Israel support the punishment of perpetrators of this violence – a view likely shared even more strongly among Arab citizens.

Yet public opinion alone is unlikely to deter Netanyahu’s government. We have seen this with the judicial overhaul legislation, which the government continues to advance despite widespread public opposition. In the case of Jewish terrorism, severe human rights violations are being perpetrated against a disenfranchised population, which only strengthens the case for external pressure.

Why should the international community get involved? Opposing injustice and protecting the vulnerable is simply the moral thing to do. But we also wish to make a special appeal to those who, like us, care about Israel – and particularly to diaspora Jews.

We recognize that many Jews in the diaspora are grappling with their own challenges, including concerns about surging antisemitism. Yet care for Israel means confronting the harsh realities on the ground and cannot be reconciled with indifference to wrongdoing. To love Israel is also to hold it accountable.

More practically, many actions of the current government – including the devastating war in Gaza, the enablement of settler violence, and the establishment of a mandatory death penalty only for Palestinians – undermine Israel’s legitimacy and damage the image of the Jewish people worldwide.

Whether your concern is the rights and dignity of Palestinians, the future of Israel, or the standing of the Jewish people – this is a moment to act. Sign up for protective presence initiatives, in which activists stay with vulnerable Palestinian communities to deter or document attacks. Support activists and communities by donating to organizations such as Jordan Valley Activists, Looking the Occupation in the Eye and Rabbis for Human Rights. Write to your representatives. Engage your communities to publicly condemn settler violence.

Together, we must do everything in our power to put a stop to Jewish terrorism. Palestinian lives are at stake. And ultimately, so is who we are.

Dr. Yiftah Elazar, Prof. Inbal Arnon, Prof. Abigail Jacobson and Dr. Oded Steinberg are faculty members at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

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