New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has joined those who seek to demonize Israel, suggesting the values of the hilltop youth who are committing West Bank violence harken back to Nazi ideology and actions.
asserted
who → join → ideology
Friedman reported Moshe Ya’alon, defense minister a decade ago, “likening the ideology of extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank to that of Nazi Germany in local news reports.”
asserted
Ya’alon → report → reports
“What is Jewish supremacy?” Ya’alon asked, “Eighty years after the Holocaust, ‘Mein Kampf’ in reverse.
asserted
Ya’alon → ask → reverse
While I have previously condemned the extremists and their leader, Itamar Ben-Gvir, their motivation is not Nazi-like as Ya’alon claims.
uncertain
Ya’alon → condemn → extremists
Jews have witnessed what was done in 1949 when territories were turned over to the Jordanians.
asserted
territories → witness → Jordanians
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported:
“Jews were barred from the Old City and denied access to the Western Wall and other Holy Places.
asserted
Jews → report → Wall
The Jewish Quarter in the Old City was destroyed; fifty-eight synagogues were also destroyed or desecrated.
asserted
synagogues → destroy → City
Thousands of tombstones in the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives were destroyed to pave a road and build fences and latrines in Jordanian army camps.
asserted
Thousands → destroy → camps
The same occurred to West Bank Jewish communities, including Hebron, home of the Cave of the Patriarchs, the resting place for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their family members.
asserted
same → occur → Abraham
During the 700 years of Arab rule and during the British Mandate, Jews were not allowed to enter, only able to go to the seventh step of the entrance.
asserted
Jews → allow → entrance
Despite this impediment for centuries, religious Jews settled in Hebron to be near the sacred site.
asserted
Jews → settle → site
This ended in 1929 when the Grand Mufti led a pogrom that eliminated the Jewish community there.
asserted
that → end → community
Only after the 1967 war were Jews able to reenter Hebron and finally visit the burial site.
asserted
Jews → reenter → site
Former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion declared that “in the cause of peace, Israel should take nothing in the conquered territories, except for Hebron, which is more Jewish even than Jerusalem.
asserted
which → declare → Jerusalem
As religious Jews began rebuilding their houses of study in Hebron, they were attacked by Islamists, including Tayseer Abu Sneineh.
asserted
they → begin → Sneineh
He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1980 killing of six Jews at the Hadassah House, home to a Hebron yeshiva.
asserted
He → sentence → yeshiva
He was released in a prison exchange in 1983 and returned from exile a decade later to a hero’s welcome; and for the last decade, he has been Hebron’s mayor.
asserted
he → release → decade
When interviewed by Yardena Schwartz, Abu Sneineh claimed, “There is no holy place in Palestine which is linked with the Jewish religion through history.”
asserted
which → interview → history
When asked about the Tomb of the Patriarchs, he replied, “The Ibrahimi Mosque is a Muslim holy place.”
asserted
Mosque → ask → Patriarchs
He then referred to the 2017 UNESCO designation of Hebron’s Old City, which includes the tomb, as a Palestinian World Heritage Site.
asserted
which → refer → Site
This history makes clear that Palestinian goodwill cannot be relied upon to safeguard Jewish holy sites.
asserted
relied → make → sites
Moreover, to lump together these extremists with the broader Israeli right-wing is grossly inaccurate.
asserted
lump → lump → wing
In 2023, building on a series of previously enacted initiatives, the current government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adopted a five-year plan for eastern Jerusalem.
asserted
government → build → Jerusalem
Its confirmation resolution stated, “The development and prosperity of Jerusalem … for the benefit of all its citizens … is based on the integration of East Jerusalem residents into the fabric of urban life and Israeli society.”
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development → state → life
The funds were to accelerate the improvement of infrastructure, employment opportunities, and educational attainment.
asserted
funds → accelerate → infrastructure
When the extreme right-wing attempted to cut the funds that aided East Jerusalem Palestinian seeking entry into Israeli universities, it was rebuffed.
asserted
it → attempt → universities
Though they lack Israeli citizenship, East Jerusalem Palestinians are free to travel throughout the country and face few employment or educational barriers.
asserted
Palestinians → lack → barriers
By contrast, 1 million stateless Palestinians living in Jordan and Lebanon face severe restrictions.
asserted
Palestinians → live → restrictions
When the head of the Jordanian human rights commission sought improvements, she met fierce opposition within the government: “When we talk about civil rights, political rights and so on, they would say ‘Well, we don’t want to help Israelis achieve their goals by giving those people access to all types of activities and normal living so that they could forget about their right of return.’”
uncertain
they → seek → return
The pepper-spraying of an Arab woman in Jaffa and the spitting on a priest in the Old City made international news, fueling claims of widespread harassment of Arab citizens by Jewish nationalist youth.
uncertain
spraying → make → youth
However, it ignores the overall peacefulness in Jaffa and other mixed cities.
asserted
it → ignore → Jaffa
At the war’s beginning, these same youths roamed Jaffa, chanting nationalist slogans.
asserted
youths → roam → slogans
The local imam received numerous calls from Muslim youths wanting to respond physically, creating the specter of a repeat of the 2021 violence.
asserted
imam → receive → violence
But something had changed.
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something → change → ?
“Don’t do anything,” the imam told callers.
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imam → do → callers
“Let us handle this quietly,” sending this message to some 1,200 youths connected with the mosque.
asserted
us → let → mosque
The imam then did something that would have been unthinkable in 2021: he called the police.
asserted
he → do → police
After the 2021 riots, local police launched youth programs — coordinated among mosques — that kept many young men off the streets.
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that → launch → streets
After Oct. 7, 2023, Jewish and Arab Jaffans formed joint groups to prevent a fresh round of violence.
asserted
Jaffans → form → violence
A WhatsApp group collected funds and distributed food, clothes, and blankets to Jewish and Bedouin evacuees from border communities, along with support for local Jaffans.
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group → collect → Jaffans
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
