Aug 25, 2024
The letter sent by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to the prime minister, cabinet members and the attorney general, in which he warns that Jewish terror is a danger to the state’s existence, constitutes a flashing warning light.
In any normal country, there would be no hesitation in doing the right thing. They would remove the radical right from the government and instruct security services to treat Jewish terror with the same gravity they do with Palestinian terror.
But as long as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich remain in the government, it will be impossible to fight Jewish terror. As long as the former is in charge of the police and the latter is in charge of the occupied territories, Jewish terror will know that it has the backing of higher authorities.
The picture depicted in the Shin Bet chief’s letter is gloomy. He describes a change in the nature of Jewish terrorist activities: “from focused covert activity to broad, open activity. From using a cigarette lighter to using weapons of war. Sometimes using weapons that were distributed by the state lawfully.
From evading the security forces to attacking the security forces. From cutting themselves off from the establishment to receiving legitimacy from certain officials in the establishment.”
If Israel continues to deny the bitter truth that a Jewish wild weed that has grown in the territories is now out of control, Jewish terror will bring Israel down. “The ‘hilltop youth’ phenomenon has long grown into a platform for committing violence against Palestinians,” wrote Bar.
He noted the loss of fear of being taken into administrative custody, which stems from “the conditions they are afforded in jail and the money they receive after their release from Knesset members, in addition to the legitimization and praise they receive for their actions. This is accompanied by a delegitimization campaign against security services.” Bar warned that Jewish terror could ignite an additional battlefront.
The Shin Bet head also recounted the police’s inaction and to the covert support Jewish terrorists receive from the police. He specifically mentioned Ben-Gvir and his visit to the Temple Mount compound on Tisha B’Av. Bar explicitly noted that this “created a very significant risk to regional security.”
Following the publication of Bar’s letter, Ben-Gvir demanded his dismissal at a cabinet meeting. Netanyahu and other ministers backed Bar, which led to Ben-Gvir leaving the meeting. But experience shows that if his base is angry, Netanyahu will change his mind. Bar has for quite a while been on the list of Bibi-ist and Kahanist targets. In the wake of his warning letter, this camp’s attacks on him will only increase.
The person who has tied his political fate to the radical right, legitimized Kahanism, given control over the government to Ben-Gvir and placed the territories in the hands of Smotrich is the last person to fight Jewish terror.
Every day the super right-wing government continues to exist under Netanyahu is a day Israel is sinking deeper into an abyss from which it will be difficult to extricate itself. This government must be replaced immediately.
The above article is Haaretz’s lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.
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