Eamonn McDonagh and Gene are right: the Arab-hating Jewish settlers of Hebron are scum.
But when Gene asks, “Will it take the death of a soldier or policeman at the hand of a settler before the government cracks down?”, he ought to recall that the settlers’ movement has the murder of an Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, on its hands. And still, no meaningful crackdown.
The Israeli military controls the West Bank with a brutal hand, and yet it is up to journalists — journalists — to rescue a Palestinian family from an attempted lynching by crazed settlers. The family’s house was wantonly destroyed.
Jeffrey Goldberg notes that in a comprehensive “Daily Alert” from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, there was no mention whatsoever of the unchecked, racist settler violence.
Ultimately, Israel must end its occupation of the West Bank and cease all settlement activity. Meanwhile, Israel must unleash its full military might against rampaging settlers in Hebron and anywhere else. We need to move from legalistic pussyfooting to live ammunition. That’s what the Palestinians have had to contend with for some time.
And for mainstream American Jewish organizations, silence equals complicity. There needs to be a chorus of disgust at what is happening right now in Hebron. Decency demands it.
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