By Vic Rosenthal
The arson attack at the Arab village of Duma, near Shechem (Nablus) has so far taken two lives, including that of an 18-month old child. Two other members of the same family are in the hospital with severe burns.
The reaction in Israel has been one of horror, especially since it is generally thought that extremist Jewish ‘settlers’ were the perpetrators. Although usually words like ‘suspected’ are included, the clear implication is that it is just a question of finding the ‘settlers’ responsible for this shocking murder. Indeed, before an investigation even began, President Reuven Rivlin publically blamed “Jewish terrorists” for it. And he didn’t even say ‘suspected’.
The case has generated outrage in both the general public and politicians. The government immediately authorized the use of administrative detention – basically, imprisonment without trial – and more “aggressive interrogation methods” for Jewish extremists, and is already holdingthree of them.
But as yet, there has been no information released that there are any suspects in the Duma case, Arab or Jewish. And there is only one piece of evidence (that we know of) that points in the direction of Jewish extremists: Hebrew graffiti on one of the burned buildings.
It is important in a democratic state that we avoid rushing to judgment, especially in a case as emotionally charged as this one. Unfortunately, from what I read in the media and even hear in my own synagogue, we seem to have already done so.
In my last post, I wrote that there were good reasons for believing that extremist Jews might not be responsible. I think it’s important to explain them in detail.
So what do we know that points away from Jewish extremists? Much of the evidence comes from a young man, Yonadav Tapuchi, who visited Duma with a delegation from the Tag Meirorganization, a group that opposes the ‘price tag’ (tag mechir) vandalism against Arabs perpetrated by Jewish extremists in Judea and Samaria. The residents showed the delegation the burned houses, and told their version of what had occurred.
Yonadav Tapuchi at Duma
Tapuchi’s whole account is worth reading, but here are the forensically important points:
…the two houses … are located in the center of the village, and that in order to get there we had to travel a number of minutes from the entrance. Duma is spread out over a gigantic area, and the houses are situated at the end of a winding road, among fences and yards.
According to the Duma version, the attackers burnt one house, then saw that it was empty, and so they went to set fire to the next house. The second house is enclosed by a fence, and the windows are covered by a dense lattice; a firebomb cannot be hurled through the windows, and in any event it is very hard to reach the windows behind the fence. The arsonists had to go around the house, enter the yard, and place the firebombs through the lattice. According to the Duma version, the attackers entered the house, stood over the parents and did not let them leave until the flames engulfed the house. Only then did the arsonists run away from the village.
If the attack was done for nationalistic reasons, why pick these particular houses? Why would the attackers expose themselves both coming into the village and – after the houses had burst into flames – leaving it, on foot no less? And why weren’t they caught? One would expect terrorists to pick a house near the entrance to the village, one with easy access to windows.
What about the graffiti, the sum total of evidence that the perpetrators were Jewish extremists? There were apparently two of them on the walls. One was the single word ????, revenge, with a star of David:
‘Revenge’, on the burnt house in Duma
The other was a slogan that is associated with the Chabad movement, ??? ???? ????? (the King Messiah lives) with a crown.
“The King Messiah lives” on a wall in Duma
Let’s start with this. First, the ideology is wrong. The extremist ‘settler youth’ that is suspected of the crime are far from Chabadniks, and Chabad itself is strongly opposed to violent terrorism or even nonviolent vandalism. But the slogan, often associated with a crown, can be found all over Israel, on billboards and posters, and even as graffiti. Someone who knew nothing about Jews and wanted to find something that suggested “Jewish extremist” might pick this. Here is an example of a t-shirt bearing the legend:
Chabad T-shirt with “The King Messiah Lives” slogan and crown
Now look at the single word, revenge. This has appeared in several cases of (non-violent) “price tag” vandalism. Here is an example:
An example of “price tag” graffiti in another location
Note the way the letter koof, the second from right, appears in these images. I searched the web for images of Hebrew graffiti containing the letter, and none of them looked remotely like the example from Duma. Most looked like the second example. I certainly don’t want to make too much of this, but combined with the other evidence, it is certainly suggestive.
Another news article describes Arab media reports that the IDF “confiscated” security cameras from the village, implying that the village is not cooperating in the investigation. And it refers, unfortunately without giving a source, to “an ongoing 18-year feud between two clans in Duma.” Such feuds in Arab villages are not uncommon and are often quite violent.
I think the hypothesis that the arson and murders were committed by Arabs of a rival clan is no less likely – indeed probably more so – than that the perpetrators were Jewish extremists. In any case, based on what we know today, we can’t reasonably attribute the crime to anyone.
But I’ll go further: to say that “Jewish terrorists,” “settler extremists” committed the crime is an unwarranted accusation of murder, a case of sinat hinam, baseless hatred against right-wing Jews and residents of the territories. It is, in fact, an antisemitic blood libel. And using the unfounded accusation to justify the use of administrative detention or “aggressive interrogation methods” is reminiscent of the Reichstag fire.
I sincerely hope that very soon the investigation by the police and Internal Security Service will bear fruit. I know the culprits, no matter who they are, will be very severely punished. In the meantime, it would be best for our spiritual and political health to stop making accusations when all we have are hypotheses.
Israel and Jews must do certain things as a priority
1. See their struggle for a Jewish Homeland as in the forefront of the struggle against Islamic Jihad. The “Palestinians” is really a very precise name for Islamic Jihad in the world. It is an excellent cover for the Islamic Jihad which has been created over decades of lies and based on a false and lie filled “humanitarianism”
2. This is an intense struggle involving every country in the world. It is many decades since Joan Peters in “Time Immemorial” exposed the lies behind the Palestinian Refugees but that book has had no overall effect on the struggle against those lies. Something was missing. In today’s world of sharply competing ideologies it is not enough to write a book, or create a blog, no matter how important they THINK they are.
3. There must be a reason for these difficulties that good people like Peters have. I hypothesise that the main difficulty is that most people do not recognise that the system itself, the capitalist system as an international unit, is unable to lead mankind forward. This sets up enormous conflicts. Totally unresolvable conflicts.
4. Much blame has been put on “Europeans” by Caroline Glick as she introduces a book called “Catch a Jew” quite recently (it is on youtube) (good journalistic work by the author but his political views must be questioned severely). Glick does not distinguish between people in Europe and leaders. When Hitler took state power in 1933 it was all over AT THAT PRECISE POINT. There was no opposition possible FROM THAT PRECISE POINT ON under Fascism. In fact that is the definition of Fascism, at least one of them, and states that Fascism will move to pulverize all opposition to its rule. This is one small example of Glick, with HER ideology, leading us in a very false direction. Glick blames “Europeans” for Hitler and in fact turns everything on its head. Believe me I have many other examples.
5. The events of the past two weeks are extremely rich in lessons. I have yet to see a defence, a real defence true in nature, of the imprisoned grandson of Meir Kahane (Meir Ettinger). it is not so much the outright traitors in government like Netanyahu, Bennett and Shaked I refer to. It is to the poseurs in the many blogs and book authors in between them and the Jews of Israel that I am drawn to. How long did it take for this layer to react to the arrest of Ettinger? It took ages whereas in this world of internet the knowledge was there nearly immediately. Why the hesitation?
6. I conclude from this that in Israel there are many people, individuals and groups that will betray big time. Today it is easy to attack Bennett. I am talking however about tomorrow and those who will betray tomorrow. I myself was arguing many months ago, alone, that Bennett and Shaked would betray.
7. What must Israel and Jews do. Israel must have a leadership that will create this struggle for a Jewish Homeland as being central in the war agaisnt Islamic Jihadist Supremacism. This is what is testing out leadership in every country. Israel is in very bad shape because of the most atrocious leadership possible. It is very likely that the arson was caused by Arabs in an inter-familial feud and that the family and all of the people in that town of Duma know that. They are indeed part of the Jihad. In on this conspiracy against Jews is Shin Bet and the whole of the present Cabinet. There can be no solution whatsoever without ridding of Islam from Israel. Jews must raise the call for the end of this Netanyahu Government, and there must be called a General Election, in which a new leadership and party be formed. The centre of this party is that the Jews of Israel as a whole, not just the “territories”, are fighting a bitter enemy in the Jihad (Palestinians). Netanyahu must retire. His time is finished. Bennett and Shaked must be shunned. Rivlin should be arrested and placed on trial. Jews in any place can no longer depend on the present state forces, without exception, and must be organised independently to defend themselves by whatever means are necessary. If you do not accept this you act the role of a traitor. No matter what is in your brain that is the objective truth. YOU ARE A TRAITOR!
I am an Irishman, born, bred and will die. I am not Jewish and never will be. This means I am not Jewish but I am in solidarity with all things Jewish. These are my considered views and my opinion. Long live Trotskyism! My views are motivated by the life and writings of Leon Trotsky (Lev Davidovich)
@ bernard ross:
I am just now returning to Internet work. Yesterday our network was neutralized by a very strong burst of “data” that effectively destroyed the link devices.
An hour ago we started the new ones back.
Netanyahu and his associates are all trying to destroy the core of Jewish self reliance and independence.
Let’s return everything that belonged to someone else, say 100 years ago, to their former owner. This is crazy talk. I want the farm the Brits took from my family a couple centuries ago and you want 2000 year old Roman antiquities. At least you got me laughing!
SHmuel HaLevi 2 Said:
not going to happen, every day the right fades and joins the left, as felix said, look at shaked and bennett demanding death penalty for jewish “terrorists” and agreeing with detaining without evidence of crime, a thought police who only incarcerates the right but leaves leftist inciters like Rivlin and Herzog to wander free. The only violent act from jews to arabs was last years burning in a car and that was a reaction to the arab killings of 3 Jews. We know they dont care about violence of arabs on Jews. Duma is a hoax, the church is vandalism and the church also spreads libels against Israel and the Jews, the right wing “extremists” incite no more than the lies of gideon levy, herzog and gal on who encourage incarcerating their political opposition without evidence.
What would they be saying if a right wing PM was incarcerating the inciters of the left wing, who deserve it and are more culpable of incitement.
@ bernard ross:
BREAKING!
The courtiers just ordered the demolition of a Synagogue in Pisgat Ze’ev, ( a Jerusalem area), after 20 years of the Synagogue having been built and populated.
THAT is Netanyahu’s true core.
@ bernard ross:
That was a figurative statement.
If Jews did not do it, the gangsters that propagated the libel worldwide with terrible consequences, WILL HAVE to face newly elected courts and terrible judgment.
The consequences could well be the end of the state.
In my view Rivlins reaction is way over the top, irresponsible and dangerous. He is a danger to Israel and Jews worldwide and possibly himself becuase such an absurdly inappropriate behavior may be the signs of early dementia. the last thing a leader does is jump on a lynching bandwagon with no evidence, and rivlin did that. He should resign, he is an embarassment to anyones intelligence. Dont give that unpredictable, unstable person any responsibility for a “nuclear suitcase”, he might have a demented fit and press the button.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
why do you hope that Jews did it?
Rivlin, Herzog, BB, Yaalon and Erdan have put Jews in danger globally and set Israelis on fire becuase they have spread to the world this blood libel that the Jews did it, and now the world repeats their libel in an amen chorus…. should we blame the foreigners or should we blame those who originated the and spread the libel, reinforcing the libel by falsely arresting an appeasement sacrifice.
Who will put Rivlin, Herzog, BB, Yaalon and Erdan in detention for six months for falsely inciting against Jews? will more children be murdered in France as a result of this latest blood libel?
I accuse them of inciting the mob that will kill Jews, of collaborating in the murder of Jewish children, of being responsible for the burned Israelis attacked as revenge on the basis of the Rivlin, BB, Yaalon, Herzog, Erdan blood libels.
@ Paddy:
I agree on that attacks against Christian clergy and locations must not be tolerated.
Just as much, we demand that the Vatican vacate immediately King David’s Mausoleum in Jerusalem and return ALL the TEMPLE items stolen by the Romans while they destroyed our central sacred location.
Further. The Vatican must cease and desist from promoting our enemies.
The only civilized state in the Near East is Israel and it acts like one. Yet, it’s wrong to torch the Church of the Loaves and Fishes or spit on Catholic religious the way yeshiva boys do over the generations. A billy club enforces the law, too.
In a way, I hope that the creeps, fabricators of files conspirators and professional unJews passing as GSS investigators actually find that Jews did it and who the perps are. This must be corroborated by an independent commission though.
Why?
Because if the murderers were not Jews and the degenerates who jumped all over to create the usual Shabak aborted “Jewish underground” setting in preparations for mega disengagement will face music they never thought was scored.
Mr. Rivlin, Mr. Netanyahu, Ya’alon and everyone else in the lynch mob better FIND the true perpetrators.
We are watching like hawks…