The need to stop Jewish terrorists: A rant from a concerned American-Israeli
Too many Israelis, including many whose views I otherwise mostly agree with, are downplaying the actions by Jewish terrorists in Judea and Samaria. Yes, their actions are bad, but. With many buts. Very few Palestinians have been killed. There aren’t very many Jewish terrorists. There is much more Palestinian violence against Jews. Some Jewish attacks are revenge for Palestinian attacks on Jews. Some aren’t settlers (don’t live in Judea and Samaria). The vast majority of settlers are peaceful. Even settler leaders oppose the Jewish violence. They’re just unruly kids. Some terrorists have been arrested, more will be. There has been a recent downtick in the number of incidents.
Spare me the downplaying and excuses. Israel needs to sweep its side of the street, even if the Palestinian side is ten times worse. Americans know, and Israelis know: if there were 100-300 Palestinian terrorists, repeatedly threatening Jewish settlers, throwing stones at the Jewish settlers and sometimes the IDF, burning cars and houses, killing sheep, putting graffiti on synagogues, blocking roads, the IDF and Israeli police would quickly stop these attacks. The Palestinian terrorists would be identified, arrested, put in Israeli jails, criminally charged, held until trial, and convicted to long sentences.
This isn’t happening. Many warnings from American supporters, Ambassador Huckabee among them, go unheeded. So do strong statements by Israeli President Isaac Herzog; by IDF chief Eyal Zamir about “extraordinary strategic damage”; and by Israel’s US ambassador Yechiel Leiter, on Israel’s “failing grade” for its weak response. Actions (here, inactions) count. Words are camouflage.
Israelis know that Hamas promises mean nothing; only actions count. Lebanese government promises mean nothing; what counts are the actions it is (not) taking against Hezbollah. So too for Jewish terrorists in Judea and Samaria.
Israeli words without real action are, in an important way, worse than camouflage. Americans see that the Israeli government is lying when it says it is dealing with the Jewish terrorists. That casts doubt on all the true things that Israel and its supporters say about Israel’s conduct of the Hamas war.
Americans and Israelis know why inaction continues: the Israeli government is allowing Jewish terror to continue, perhaps to grow. We know which ministers are blocking stronger steps against the Jewish terrorists.
The international cost is enormous. Israel is losing many US supporters, because it won’t crack down on Jewish terror. Israel’s supporters, myself included, cannot defend Israel’s ongoing neglect. Israel’s senior leaders must know this. Do they not care? Do they hope for a few more votes in the upcoming elections, no matter the international cost? Either way, they are bringing disaster on themselves and on Israel.
Haviv Rettig-Gur, often a perceptive analyst, says he has come to believe that Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir affirmatively want Israel to face international isolation, the better to pursue their local agendas. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu surely doesn’t want that outcome, but takes no real action. He apparently believes that marginal improvement in his re-election chances is worth the ongoing, large international cost. He occasionally says a few words and promises more action against Jewish terror, but doesn’t deliver. Shin Bet chief David Zini has been among the down-players. Defense minister Israel Katz ended administrative detention of Israelis and replaced it with, well, nothing. Shame on all of them.
Israeli-US cooperation has been deeply damaged, and will suffer much more damage if we have four more years during which the Israeli government turns an often-blind eye to the actions of Jewish terrorists.
I and many Zionist supporters of Israel are angry at this self-inflicted wound. Israel’s enemies have a true, undeniable charge, to add to their false claims about genocide, apartheid, starvation, settler colonialism, and whatever else. A charge I can’t refute. And the persuadable middle is losing sympathy with Israel.
I do not, I believe, suffer from Bibi derangement syndrome, or its US analogue. Netanyahu has accomplished much since October 7 on the military front. But on the 8th front, the world perception front, tolerating Jewish terrorists is a bleeding, self-inflicted wound, that will only become graver until treated.
Israel is losing world support, and risking US support, that it needs for much more important things: Iran most of all. Hezbollah. Hamas disarmament in Gaza. Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. The coalition fiddles, while international support leaks away.
