Bibi Brands ‘Price Tag’ Attacks Stain on Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak condemned violence by right-wing extremists on Tuesday, vowing to use all means to eradicate the phenomenon.
Speaking at a Hanukkah ceremony at the Efraim Regional Brigade’s base near the West Bank city of Qalqilya – that was attacked by some 50 extremists a week ago – Netanyahu likened the incident to a stain on a white shirt. “If you take the whitest shirt and put one stain on it, the entire shirt will look stained. This is a stain on all of Israel and on a population of settlers that are not part of this phenomenon.” Netanyahu added that “this stain must be erased.”
Barak told reporters that he thought the incidents should be labeled as terrorism, but that “the legal definition is less important than the actions that need to be taken.” He said that these steps include emergency legislation and harsher punishments.
Last week, Netanyahu approved a series of steps that would crack down on Jewish extremists responsible for recent violent attacks on IDF soldiers and other targets, but rejected a recommendation to label them a “terror group.”
Netanyahu also gave IDF soldiers the authority to carry out arrests in the West Bank and to increase the number of activists from the extreme right that could be removed from the West Bank.
In the attack on the Efraim base last Tuesday, right-wing activists threw stones at region’s brigade commander and his deputy after forcefully opening the door to their jeep. The brigade commander was lightly wounded after a stone hit his head.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
In addition to the attack on the IDF base, right-wing activists blocked a main West Bank road and threw stones at passing Palestinian vehicles and IDF soldiers in the area.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
