Israeli settlers must ask themselves: what went wrong? (Haaretz)

– “What’s happening must be stopped. The army and police have failed to do so. So have parents, communities, rabbis and educators. If we were talking about a war (as some would like it become), I’d write: The army failed not due to lack of desire or lack of intelligence, but because it drew the wrong conclusions from the raw material.

Since few understand the troubled, disturbed souls of some of the rioters, it is hard to formulate an effective policy to deter or penalize them. Instead of talking about eradicating the plague, a term even settler leaders have used, we should think about treating it. But in the atmosphere prevailing today, with justified rage guiding the public’s response, this has no chance. Everyone, especially those in whose gardens the disease sprouted, wants revenge. After all, the rioters are threatening the very existence of the settlement enterprise.

As I see it, the Israel Defense Forces and even the mosques are merely punching bags. The rioters’ main fury is directed against their home – both their nuclear families and their public/ideological home. Only by hitting out at the IDF, and especially at Arabs, can they shock and draw attention to their protest against those whom they think are betraying their mission.”

Read more…