Attacks Start Talks About Growing Extremism in Israel
A 16-year-old girl died in a hospital on Aug.2 after she was stabbed at the annual gay pride parade in Jerusalem three days earlier.
The girl, Shira Banki, and five others were allegedly attacked by Yishai Shlissel, who has a history of violence against the LGBT community. The attack was followed by an arson in the West Bank, where an 18-month-old Palestinian child was killed in a fire. Israeli citizens held an anti-violence rally on Aug. 1 and government officials have condemned the attack, claiming there will be “zero tolerance” for Jewish extremists.
Why would someone go on a stabbing spree at a gay pride parade?
In this case, the suspect believed the stabbings were religiously righteous. Shlissel, who was taken into custody shortly after the attack, served 10 years in prison for stabbing three people at the 2005 gay pride parade. He was released three weeks before his most recent attack.
Reports say Shlissel, who identifies as a Haredi Jew, announced his intentions in flyers, in which he called the pride parade an “abomination.” Haredi Judaism, also called ultra-Orthodox Judaism, is considered to be the most conservative sect of Judaism, and does not allow amending Jewish laws to adapt to changing culture and values.
Shlissel appeared before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on July 31 and said he is not interested in cooperating with the court.
What is police’s role in this incident?
Authorities in Jerusalem are being scrutinized by the public for failing to prevent the July 30 attack. An investigation is underway to identify a possible breakdown in police protocols and the officers responsible for the breakdown.
The current protocol requires individuals with prior convictions to report to the police when they attend events related to their past crimes. In other words,Shlissel should have been required to report his presence at the parade to the police. The police were also instructed to keep an eye out for members of the Haredi Jewish community and ask them to identify themselves.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan created a panel to investigate how the police failed to stop the attack despite the policies that were in place. The panel is set to report its findings in two weeks.
Sounds like a tragic weekend for Israel. What else happened?
There was arson in the West Bank on July 31, where Palestinian settlers live. An 18-month-old infant, Ali Dawabsha, died in the fire. The arsonists reportedly spraypainted “revenge” and “long live the Messiah” in Hebrew on the side of the house before throwing firebombs inside.
Local Palestinians responded with a protest on a nearby highway, calling for the arsonists’ arrest. Tensions grew when Israeli authorities arrived at the protest and the protesters threw stones at police vehicles, according to reports.
On Aug. 1, former Israeli president Shimon Peres addressed a crowd at an anti-violence rally in Tel Aviv. He said: “Those who incite against Israel’s Arab citizens shouldn’t be surprised when churches and mosques are set on fire, and ultimately when a baby is burned to death in the middle of the night.”
I guess this is the part where you tell me about the rise in extremist attacks in Israel.
Yes it is.
In the past two years, there have been 16 reported cases of arson against Palestinians in Israel. In June, five individuals torched a church and the living quarters attached to the church near the Sea of Galilee. Two of the suspects were indicted on July 29.
This is the second arson case with an indictment. In the other case, three people vandalized and set fire to a classroom in the biggest Hebrew-Arabic school in Israel. Two of the three suspects were sentenced to about two years in prison on July 22.
How is the government responding to internal terrorism?
Until now, very little had been done to curb the rise of extremism in Israel. But after the recent attacks, the Israeli government decided to change how it treats Israeli suspects. On Aug. 2, the security cabinet authorized administrative detention — detaining suspects for a long time without charging them — of suspected Jewish extremists.
Whether this measure, introduced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will have any luck curbing extremism in Israel is yet to be seen. According to Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization, more than 85 percent of crimes against Palestinians in Israel are closed because investigators cannot locate the suspects or find enough evidence to make a case.
Brief contributed by Lakshna Mehta | @lakshna_lk
