Originally Posted by Tashah

I agree with Olmert. The city of Hebron stands out in my mind. A hellhole with constant friction and turmoil between the Arab residents and Jewish settlers. The behavior of the Hebron settlers is nothing less than disgusting.

Originally Posted by danarhea

Since you are Israeli, I have a couple of questions to ask you, and perhaps you could enlighten me as to why some settlers are the way they are:

Originally Posted by danarhea

1) The phrase "Never again" is huge amongst Jews. There was the Holocaust, and then several attempts by Arab nations to destroy Israel by invading that nation. I am not saying that the settlers are in the right, but there is a kind of mindset among many Jews that involves survival, and although what some of the settlers are doing is not right, I can understand why they are doing it. The whole issue, I believe, is a very complicated one, and not easily explained. Of course, being Israeli yourself, you probably have a much better grasp of this than I do, so I would like to hear your comments.

Originally Posted by danarhea

2) In just about every war, land taken has belonged to the victor. However, in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel did not annex the territory it took. If they had done that, instead of leaving that land as a bargaining chip, would the problems between settlers and the Palestinians even be an issue? I would like to hear your opinion on that too.

Originally Posted by Tashah

I am not a Sabra (Israeli born) and thus my take on such things is influenced by my personal circumstances. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to answer your questions.


You must first of all understand that Israel does not belong to just Israelis. Rather, the State of Israel belongs to every Jew in the entire world. In my mind, the national motto “Never Again” speaks to the truth that diaspora Jews will now always have a safe harbor if their skies ever darken.

You must also understand that most Israeli settlers are Jewish ultra-Orthodox. They view many things quite differently than moderate and secular Israelis. They strongly believe that the true nation of Israel encompasses all the territory of the biblical Kingdom of David. In my view, the settlements constitute expansion. In their view, the settlements constitute reclamation.


An Israeli annexation the West bank and Gaza would have resulted in an Israel with a highly skewered internal demographic. This would have made it virtually impossible for Israel to remain a Jewish state - and - a democracy. In such a circumstance, the only way to sustain Israel would be to engage in large-scale population transfers. Horrific to say the least.

I personally believe that the only viable solution is the two-state solution. A sovereign Israel and a soverign Palestine. One of the largest obstacles in obtaining such a solution is the settlements themselves. If settlement continues unabated, it will soon be physically impossible to impliment the two-state solution. For a two-state solution to be viable, both sides will have to agree to some territorial concessions. Palestine will have to ceed to Israel the West Bank territory of the three or four largest Israeli settlements (actually medium-sized cities). Israel will have to remove the remaining settlements and ceed a requisite amount of Israeli territory to compensate Palestine for the surviving West Bank settlements.

The above are items that are currently being negotiated. It's a very complex situation that is proving very difficult to untangle.

Originally Posted by danarhea

Now I am a bit confused. I thought that ultra-orthodox Jews (Neturai Karta, for instance) believe that the creation of Israel violates the Torah. But if those settlers are also ultra-orthodox, isn't that a contradiction? Are we are talking about different kinds of orthodox Jews?