How the Israeli settler movement shaped modern Israel

The rise in settler violence against Palestinians within the West Bank over the past 12 months is unprecedented. Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and the beginning of the war, there have been greater than 1,000 attacks, in line with a brand new report by the International Crisis Group.

The thorn that sparked international concernis usually attributed to the liberal policies of the right-wing Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu. According to a UN investigationAlmost half of all settler attacks documented in October 2023 were carried out in cooperation with or within the presence of Israeli forces.

I studied Jewish violent extremism for greater than 20 yearsI’d argue that these developments are the results of an extended process that goes hand in hand with the erosion of Israel's democratic foundations – that the seeds were planted long before Netanyahu got here to power.

Since the late Nineteen Seventies, the long run of Israeli settlements within the West Bank has been probably the most contentious debate within the country. But the once marginal settler movement has now turn out to be arguably probably the most influential actor in Israeli politics.

Ideological origins

In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel took over the West Bank, then ruled by Jordan, against its predominantly Arab neighbors.

Israel then imposed martial law within the region, but Jewish settlement within the occupied territory Construction began immediately afterwards. The first settlements were built illegally and were allowed to stay temporarily. Finally, after the right-wing Likud party got here to power in 1977, the settlements were acquired legal status and their numbers increased rapidly. However, most countries consider them a violation of international law.

The first settler groups, and still nearly all of them, are a part of the larger religious Zionist movement, which seeks to mix devotion to a Jewish nation-state with religious orthodoxy. These Israelis view the emergence of the Zionist movement, the establishment of the State of Israel and its subsequent military victories as Phases of a holy redemptionwhich is able to end with the arrival of the Messiah and the establishment of a Jewish kingdom.

Many imagine that this process might be accelerated by restoring a Jewish presence within the West Bank, which was a part of the biblical kingdoms of Judea and Israel.

In 1989, the settlers within the West Bank formed lower than 2% of the entire population of Israel. Today, They account for nearly 6%although the country's population has doubled.

About 150 settlements are scattered throughout the West Bank, along with unauthorized outposts – Undermining the potential of a viable Palestinian state with an undivided, contiguous territory. As the federal government intensified its efforts to encourage settlement through various subsidies and the event of infrastructure, an increasing number of Israelis moved to the West Bank. to enhance their quality of life and for financial reasons and never ideological in nature.

Gain influence

Traditionally, settlers had only limited representation within the Israeli parliament, but this modified because of a mixture of strategies.

Historically, nearly all of the secular Israeli public has been unwilling to support Israel's control of the West Bank for religious reasons. The position of the left is that settlements an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians and are morally problematic.

To gain support, the settler movement adopted a complementary narrative that focused on the Contribution to national securityActivists emphasized the role of the settlements as a buffer zone between the Palestinian population living under occupation and the major Israeli population centers. Today almost half of Jewish Israelis imagine that they contribute to strengthening national security.

In addition, the movement compared From the settlers within the West Bank to the Zionist pioneers who got here to Palestine within the early twentieth century and founded modern Israel – although lots of these original Zionists were strictly secular. Therefore, the settlers legitimized their cause by portraying themselves as followers of Israel's founding fathers.

At the identical time, the settlers gained power in influential Israeli institutions, including the military. Today settlers hold distinguished positions in the military leadershipwhich could partly explain the usually weak response on the illegal activities of the settlers.

The political prestige of the settlers also increased attributable to their ability to achieve positions inside the federal government. They did this by utilizing sympathetic ministers, by utilizing party primaries to push through appointments, and by winning over existing incumbents to their cause. As right-wing governments became more the norm, became cabinet members.

A typical example is Uri Ariel. After heading the Yesha Council – a forum of mayors of the West Bank settlements – Ariel became Minister of Construction and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Resignation in 2019He promoted the expansion of settlements in addition to initiatives that specifically served the region's Jewish population, reminiscent of roads, tourist attractions and industry.

Legitimization of violence

Over the last decade, a militant current throughout the settler movement has gained increasing popularity.

Known as “Hardalim” – a mixture of the words “ultra-Orthodox” and “nationalist” in Hebrew – this group represents a more Orthodox religious lifestyle. The followers are less committed to Israel’s liberal and democratic traditions, Prioritization of non secular and nationalist values.

In addition, the leaders the followers of Kahanisma racist ideology propagated by Rabbi Meir Kahane within the Nineteen Seventies and Eighties. Kahane suggested extreme measures the promotion of Jewish dominance in Israel and the West Bank, for instance through demands for the expulsion of all Arabs from the country or the prohibition of marriage between Jews and Muslims.

Kahane’s followers also justified violence against Palestiniansand teaches that harm done to a Jew is a desecration of God's name and should be avenged.

Today, some settler leaders – including former and current members of parliament reminiscent of Michael Ben-Ari And Zvi Sukkot – have also promoted Support for extreme politics to make sure Israel’s continued control and eventual annexation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. These include Population transfer – a type of ethnic cleansing – and mass punishment of the Palestinian communities.

Final victory

After the 2022 elections, Prime Minister Netanyahu included extremist settler leaders in his cabinet, which for a lot of settlers was an indication that violent and illegal acts against Palestinians be considered legitimate.

Moreover, the appointments have further politicized the federal government bureaucracy. The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir – a former member of the Kahanist movement – ​​has the police reorganizedwith aggressive measures against Palestinians And Protesters against Netanyahu's government.

Bezalel Smotrich, the political leader of the Hardali branch of the settler movement, is now finance minister. Smotrich has campaigned for allocate more funds to settlementsApprove extensions and Legalization of unauthorized outposts.

Both ministers and their parties put pressure on the federal government, Escalation of the military campaign within the Gaza Strip. In the meantime they’ve expanded Restrictions for Palestinians within the West Banklike for instance Restriction of permits to work in Israel and increasingly Restricted movement – and shows how far Israel must go to revive its democratic ethos.