Israeli government is too involved in settler movement to take on Jewish extremists (short headline)

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/09/extremists-palestinian-legislator

Touma-Sliman is not convinced the pronouncements will lead to substantive changes in how Israel responds to settler violence. The United Nations recorded settler violence increased fourfold since 2006, yet Israel currently has only one undercover unit responsible for weeding out violent settlers. The outfit is widely considered to be underfunded as a result of lobbying from settler groups. Three years ago members of that unit were beaten with sticks by settlers who mistook them for Palestinian shepherds. When the United Nations statistics on settler violence were published, former IDF commander of the West Bank, Gadi Zohar, told The National, “There is not enough pressure from the prime minister, the defence minister, the interior minister to prevent this.”

Touma-Sliman blames the growth in settler violence on Israel’s government. Her view is that the settler voice is mainstreamed in her country’s politics.

“First of all I think the cause of all of these crimes is the continuation of the occupation and the ideology that leads to a situation where you don’t the see the other, and you confiscate their land, and the government lets them occupy the land,” she said. Two weeks before the Duma attack, Israel’s Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked appointed a former member of the Jewish Underground who had plotted to blow up Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque to a committee against incitement, Touma-Sliman pointed out. Haggai Segel served a three year sentence for his crime, during which he authored a book explaining his view that violence—against both the state of Israel and Palestinians—is legitimate when working towards a nationalist cause.

“You have ministers sitting in the government that are representing the settler movement,” Touma-Sliman said, both ideologically and as constituents. “This government is too much involved [in the settler movement],” she went on. “This government has embraced the settlers, including the most radical among them.”

[oberliner]

1. How is it possible that Mondoweiss can still be posted here after their Coulter article?

It seriously boggles the mind.

[King_David]

2. Most people consider Mondoweiss a hate site,

I notice it is only one poster using it as a source for OPs here on DU....

[oberliner]

4. It provides a good window into a particular mindset

That is to say, those who believe that the Jewish-ness of Israel is a problem.

[Little Tich]

3. It's sad that those in the Knesset who champion Israel's democratic values are not only in the

opposition, but also on the margin of Israeli politics.

I think that Israel is slowly but surely becoming an Apartheid State, and I don't really know how a long term right-wing push like the one that's been going on in Israel for some time can be reversed. It's not as if the reversal is only one election away, much more is needed than that to get Israel back on track.