Extremists are, by their nature, the most ideologically pure
among us. These are individuals who will not compromise on their ideals. They
are willing to do whatever it takes to advance their cause, acting with
complete abandon. They are oblivious to the harm they cause in their zeal to achieve their goals. Nowhere is this more evident than what has become known as the settler
movement. Although devout in both practice and ideology, they nevertheless
endanger the lives of their own people and the very existence of the land which they are so devoted to
But as ideological purists, they deny that reality. They forge ahead with full speed and determination to reach what they see as
the fulfillment of God’s word - their destiny as Jews.
There is little more abhorrent to me than extremism. It is ugly. And when
extremist views are rooted in religious ideology, people die. This is, in fact,
why Hamas does what it does. Their religious ideology tells them that Jews are
their version of Amalek. We therefore deserve to die. Every Jew they
kill is a ‘mitzvah’ to them. (Which is why they were screaming ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ (God is great) when on October 7, they carried out the
most violent and massive massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Unfortunately, we have some extremists who act in a similar
vein. They, too, believe that violence in pursuit of settling all the land of
Israel is justified. While they do not rise anywhere near the level of Hamas,
they resort to their own version of violence in the name of God. They are
a tiny minority of the Religious Zionist movement. But there are enough of them to cause
great damage to our national soul and great harm to our people.
To be clear: I am not talking about the vast majority of
Jews living in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). They live in long-established cities there and
are peaceful. They do not wish harm upon the Palestinians
living in nearby villages. They go about their daily lives just like any Jew
living within the pre-’67 borders. Most have lived there for decades without
incident.
I am talking about what has come to be known simply as ‘the
settlers’. They are distinct and apart from the peaceful residents of Judea and
Samaria. These people are inciters of violence. Their goal is to drive
Palestinians out of the areas of Eretz Yisroel they have inhabited for
generations. They believe the land must be reclaimed - by force if necessary.
The consequences be damned. What they may end up accomplishing, however, may very
well be the destruction of the Jewish state.
Almost as troubling are the people who try to defend these settlers. Often
one hears comments like: ‘Don’t believe everything you read’. Or these are all
lies perpetrated by the left which the biased mainstream media. reports as fact without verification.
I’m sure that’s true some of the time. But it is certainly not true all of the time. There is abundant evidence that these ‘settlers’ are true believers’ And could not care less what the world thinks - as they proceeded with purity of purpose.
Their apologists are defending the indefensible. thereby aiding and abetting people that could bring disaster upon the Jewish state and its people in
very short order.
These defenders forget where Israel gets the military equipment
it uses so effectively to defend themselves. Israel doesn’t manufacture a
single F-16. Without an air force, where would Israel be? That military strength comes
from a steadfast ally whose current leadership is the most pro-Israel in its
history.
When the most pro-Israel Secretary of State in American history, Marco Rubio sees this kind of thing happening and complains – that does not instill confidence in our future relationship with the US. It is suicidal to think US support doesn’t matter. Or that ‘the world hates us anyway - so who cares what they think! Without the US, Israel would have no air force at all.
Even though there is a valuable strategic relationship between our two countries where the US benefits as well, nothing is guaranteed. It certainly doesn’t help to get on the wrong side of the best and perhaps only real ally Israel has. The U.S. is not blind to atrocities committed by these settlers. As noted by JTA:
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said violence in the West Bank, which is surging, could undercut the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, which the United States is working to preserve.
“Certainly there’s some concern about events in the West Bank spilling over and creating an effect that could undermine what we’re doing in Gaza,” Rubio told reporters on Wednesday.
U.S. officials are paying close attention, with alarm, to conditions in the West Bank, where Israeli settlers have increased their pace of attacks on Palestinians in recent months. Masked settlers attacked Palestinians in two villages on Wednesday, drawing an unusual rebuke from Israel’s president.
Thankfully, Israel’s leadership realizes that these zealots
are doing enormous damage to Israel. And
they not having any of it:
“The harsh events that took place this evening in the Shomron by a handful of violent and dangerous individuals are shocking and serious,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement. “Such violence against civilians and against IDF soldiers crosses a red line and I condemn it severely. All state authorities must act decisively to eradicate the phenomenon and to strengthen the IDF fighters and security forces who protect us day and night.”
The question remains: what do we do about these people?
Severely
condemning them is not enough. I used to think that convicting them of their
crimes and putting them in prison for a long time was the answer. But that will
only motivate other ‘settlers’
like them who have not yet participated in these kinds of incidents – to go
even further.
The time has come to consider expulsion. Anyone found guilty of trying to forcefully expel Palestinians from their homes in Judea and Samaria should themselves be permanently expelled from the land of Israel. With a warning that the same fate awaits anyone else who is convicted of it.
The people of Israel must be protected from the consequences
of these religious zealots. I have come to believe that the only way to assure
they will never again endanger the very existence of the State of Israel is to
make sure they no longer have a connection to it.
Where will they go? They
can go live in New Jersey.
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