SebastianBlue
President, International Julian Alvarez Fan Club
- Joined
- 25 Jul 2009
- Messages
- 57,736
My uncle was outside the home that was set on fire and said many people came to help, thankfully, but there were several young Haredi men (likely more older boys) that were shouting vulgar phrases at the family as they were coming down. He doesn’t think they had anything to do with the fire itself, as not even they are brazen enough to stay at the scene of the crime, but he imagines they are connected with those that did it, as the ultra-Orthodox youth (in Mea Shearim and elsewhere) have become emboldened in the last few months. He said there was another incident a few days ago where the windows of a two cars owned by a relatively moderate Rabbi who has criticised the recent actions of some Hasidic leaders were smashed through and a note was left threatening worse if he did not “stop talking”.
I think people outside of Israel—even Jewish people that may not know that many in Israel—have a hard time understanding how dominant and emboldened the right and far-right factions within Israeli society have become over the last five years (but especially the last 8 months).
Much of it isn’t just an expected conservative shift as a response to 7 October, but from the de facto far-right takeover of the government which has lead to systematic policies of support (both financial and military) of nominally non-government far-right groups, including extreme Zionists and militant settlers. There are effectively paramilitary groups now operating in the West Bank, working to harass, intimidate, and evict Palestinians, and little sanctioned gangs, for lack of a better term, harassing and intimidating (or worse, as shown above) prominent critics of the government or simply people not seen as sufficient supportive.
It is incredibly concerning for those of us with family there and/or who care about the lives of Palestinians (and progressive Israelis, for that matter).
