Chronicle poll results: Cracking down on settler violence
We asked our readers if the Israeli government should be doing more to crack down on settler violence. Here's what they said.
Last week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an online poll the following question: “Should the Israeli government be doing more to crack down on settler violence?” Of the 269 people who responded, 92% said yes and 8% said no. Comments were submitted by 92 people. A few follow.
Even though the Palestinians have been killing Jews in Judea, and the settlers have never been “the obstacle to peace” — and such a crackdown won’t bring peace — Israel should still crack down on the violence because that’s the right thing to do.
No one is above the law. We only hear one side. What we do not hear about is the Arab violence against Israelis. How many Israelis have died or have been injured in ambushes in Judea and Samaria?
Absolutely! This is an important cause of antisemitism in addition to being immoral and illegal!
It is awful how the Jewish settlers are antagonizing and attacking Palestinians on the West Bank. It is more awful that the government/police/army are letting them get away with it. This is not who we are as a Jewish people.
This question assumes that there is “Jewish Israeli settler violence” of some magnitude that needs to be addressed. Based upon my research, I respectfully reject that premise.
What some of the settlers have done to Palestinians living in the West Bank has been accurately characterized, even by Israel’s stalwart supporter, Ambassador Mike Huckabee, as terrorism. None of the atrocities that have been committed against the Jewish people justifies what is being done to West Bank Palestinians.
The Israeli government is acting shamefully and dishonestly in allowing this to go on. This policy and their actions in Gaza are making Israel an outcast in the eyes of the world
Jews lived in Judea and Samaria long before Arabs and have a right to be there, but residents (not “settlers”) don’t have a right to take matters into their own hands, especially violently. When the Arabs do that we rightly call it terrorism. Arab threats are a matter for the government, not individuals, to handle.
With antisemitism running wild these days, why give the media more ammunition?
Settler violence is a media smear job.
I’d be more interested to know if there was provocation. Generally, Jews are not terrorists. Our people value life. So could the Jewish violence be retaliation?
These violent settlers are acting horribly. They are destroying Israel’s reputation and its very existence as a democracy. They are committing all sort of abuses, and believe that their acts are sanctioned by God. They must be reined in, charged and arrested for their crimes against the Palestinians who have lived in this area for many generations. The only way to stop the violence is for the Israeli government to take strong measures against these predators.
They are not settlers, they are citizens! It’s Judea and Samaria, not the so-called “West Bank.”
The state of Israel has been derelict in allowing the settler violence in the first place. How embarrassing. PJC
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