Why is it OK to murder "settlers?"

I am ambivalent about the so-called "settlers" on the West Bank and Gaza.

It's not that I agree with them or have much in common with them. And I think those of them who harrass or heaven forbid hurt Arabs, destroy olive groves, or squat on others' land should be prosecuted and punished. I am unconvinced that their presence adds anything to Israel's security, and there is no question that it is costly to keep them there. I also think it would be appropriate to forcibly evacuate them if necessary.

Still, I can't quite bring myself to condemn them the way many others do. This is because I feel that the response to their actions is way out of proportion to the damage they're actually doing. In a bizarre way, these people remind us just how much the world in general and the Arabs in the particular hate Jews.

After all, the fences, checkpoints, soldiers, pillboxes, etc., exist to protect the "settlers." If the IDF weren't there to protect these people, they'd probably be murdered - men, women, children - with impunity, for no other reason than being Jewish neighbors to Arab residents.

Now, I'm sure it's difficult for Arabs that these people move in, bringing with them Israeli military presence and all the hardship involved with that.

But even if you believe everything nasty that's ever said about the "settlers" - that they're all religious fundamentalists who view Arabs as Amalak, that they perpetrate colonialism and apartheid, etc., you're still left with just that - nutty and vocal bigots.

When the Western press feel that it's relevant to point out that a murdered child in Gaza was a "settler," it seems that alone should explain and even justify it.

But is the provocation so intolerable that murder is a justifiable response?

Even more baffling is the fact that the same apologists for murder of "settlers" also advocate the establishment of a binational Palestine, in which Jews and Arabs will supposedly live together in peace. What makes them think that the existence of live Jews in Hebron is that much less of a provocation than live Jews in Haifa or for that matter Jerusalem?

I think the "settlers" complicate things, and some of the prejudice, hypocricy, and criminal behavior that a few of them exhibit is a shande. But they're not nearly the problem the Western press makes them out to be, and they're certainly not fair game for terrorists.

And let's be clear: Terrorists don't attack Israel because the "settlers" exist - they attack the "settlers" because Israel exists.

Comments

[Lynn B.]

Excellent points. But . . . Wow! It's amazing how the misinformation campaign has successfully permeated and been absorbed, even by people who are thoughtful supporters of Israel. Leif, by no stretch of the imagination do the fences, checkpoints, soldiers, pillboxes, etc., exist to protect the "settlers." The fence, the checkpoints, the pillboxes, etc. exist to protect Israelis in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and Netanya from suicide bombers and to protect children on kibbutzim inside the Green Line from murderers with guns who want to shoot their children in their beds. They exist to discourage them from trying and to block their way if they do. Yes, the settlers do require protection too, but they do a lot of that on their own, using their own perimeter fences and their own guns and their own people. And if every settlement was uprooted tomorrow, Israel would, unfortunately, still need the fences and checkpoints -- probably even more.

Not to mention that many neighborhoods in Jerusalem itself are considered "settlements" by the palestinians, especially the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, for instance, but also Ramat Eshkol and French Hill, which were under Jordanian control prior to 1967. Some "settlements" (e.g. Maale Adumim) consist of thirty thousand people. I have a feeling these aren't the "settlers" you're talking about, though.

I've just discovered your blog, via Imshin and Shai. Glad I did. I hope to be a regular visitor.

[Leif]

Lynn - from what I understand, there are plenty of defensive measures that exist to protect Jewish communities within the "green line" (not including Jerusalem) - these include checkpoints, access roads, IDF sentries, etc.

Setting aside the issue of the defensive value of these communities themselves, I would imagine that most of the checkpoints, etc., exist to protect Israelis within the green line. My main point, in any event, is that these "settlers" need a lot of protection. Imagine how the world would react if Arabs living in the Galilee needed as much defending...