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Analysts in Israel have been attempting in recent days to explain the rise of Jewish extremism in Israel following the recent firebomb attack against two Palestinian homes in the West Bank by Jewish settlers who set the homes on fire, burning18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh to death.
“These anti-clerical kids are talking about popular spontaneous responses to situations that are unacceptable” in their view, Dr. Shlomo Fischer, a professor at Hebrew University and expert on Jewish extremism, said at a recent press conference.
Over the weekend, the Israeli authorities conducted rare raids against extremist settlers who are suspected of being behind the recent firebombing attack against the Palestinian families.
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Meanwhile, last week the authorities also uncovered an alarming manual that described to members of the “Revolt” extremist religious and right-wing Jewish group how to burn Palestinian homes.
“Stock up with a petrol bomb, preferably of a liter and a half; a lighter; gloves; a mask; a crowbar/hammer; a bag to carry it all,” the document read. “When you get to the village, search for a house with an open door or window without bars.”
Photos of 18-month-old Palestinian toddler Ali Saad Dawabsha, who died when his family’s house was set on fire by Jewish settlers in the West Bank village of Duma, lie on the ground of his burned house, July 31, 2015. I Photo: Oren Ziv.
The Revolt group, described by the Israeli Internal Security Agency Shin Bet as an organization that seeks to overthrow the state of Israel using a large scale unrest, is headed by 24-year-old extremist Meir Ettinger.
Ettinger and his group, which until recently the Shin Bet described as a non-threat, seek to overthrow the Israeli State and establish the Jewish Kingdom that would include the total land of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, in other words the Kingdom of David.
According to Fischer, the group bases its ideology on both Ultra-Orthodox Judaism as well as Religious Zionism. “They’re both activists and they reject the state, the rule of law, and civic morality,” said Fischer
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“Ultra-orthodox Jews have long rejected the state of Israel on a theological and ideological level and don’t believe in its validity,” he told Think Progress on Wedensday, nothing that they have been largely passive when expressing their views.
On the other hand, according to Fischer, Religious Zionists believe in the sanctification of Israel, and are willing to engage in violence to protect it.
Blog posts and statements by Ettinger show that his group's “activism” involves a larger scale violence than attacks like the Duma firebombing attack. “Non-Jews are to be expelled, the Third Temple is to be built and religious observance is to be enforced, initially in public spaces,” reported the New York Times.
However, critics say that successive right-wing conservative Israeli governments have allowed such groups to flourish as they grew slowly with near-complete impunity.
Relatives of 18-month-old Palestinian toddler Ali Saad Dawabsha mourn next to his body lying at a mosque during his funeral in the West Bank village of Duma, July 31, 2015. I Photo: Oren Ziv.
Fewer than 8 percent of the cases of Jewish attacks on Palestinians have resulted in indictments as many other cases were ignored with no proper investigation, according to the nongovernmental organization Yesh Din.
Since its founding in 2013, officials at the government task force formed to prevent the settlers from carrying out attacks told The Daily Beast website that the attacks' severity have gone up, with 43 out of the 141 attacks over the past year carried out with the intention to harm people.
Revolt and other extreme groups in Israel are launching a Jewish terror similar to that carried out by the Islamic State group, according to Fischer. They claim to offer a “pure and authentic experience of romantic religious nationalism for many ultra-Orthodox dropouts,” he said.
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