Out with the Anarchists
Aussie Dave | Nov 25, 2005 | 7 comments
Arutz Sheva report that Arabs in Hebron have actually approached Jewish leaders about a problem that has arisen.
Arab leaders in Hevron have contacted the city’s Jewish leaders for help in getting rid of self-proclaimed anarchist volunteers who, they complain, are destroying their traditional way of life.The anarchists, many of whom are members of the International Solidarity Movement, flock to flashpoints throughout Judea and Samaria, ostensibly to help PA Arabs contend with IDF closures and protect them from harassment. In actuality, many of the volunteers seek confrontations with IDF soldiers and local Jewish residents, taking advantage of their Western passports to cause havoc – knowing that, at worst, they will be deported, not jailed.The local Arabs in the Hevron region whom the activists claim to be helping are now complaining that the American and European students behave in a provocative and offensive manner in Hevron’s public areas. The Arabs say the activists disrespect the moral norms and standards of the local population.Several local Arab residents told the Kol Ha’Ir newspaper that the activists have been exposing the local youths to drug use and sexual promiscuity.One interviewee told Kol Ha’Ir that the volunteers show a disregard for the religious norms of the local villages and teach the local youth to reject and disrespect the traditions of their forefathers. “These anarchists come here and undermine the education we give our children. At first we took them in with hospitality – after all, they claimed they wanted to help us, so why kick them out? But very quickly they infuriated me with their lewd behavior.”In a bid to rid the region of the anarchists, local Arab leaders approached representatives of the Jewish community in Hevron – a rare, but not unheard of occurrence – in order to find a solution. The two sides agreed to have Arabic-speaking Jewish observers along Hevron’s main thoroughfares to replace the anarchists in ensuring calm between the city’s Jewish and Arab populations. The left-wing activists would then be informed by the local Arab population that they appreciate their offer to help, but that they are no longer needed.Hevron spokesman Noam Arnon confirmed the arrangement to Arutz-7, saying that the new replacement observers will be acceptable to local Arabs. He added that the international anarchists came to Hevron come from Western cultures steeped in sexual lewdness and depravity, permissiveness, and drug use. “Their presence in Hebron serves to inflame violence because they are seeking to create provocations and encourage violence,” Arnon said.He added that the observers end up causing more trouble for the local Arab population, by antagonizing soldiers and brazenly leading local Arabs in between Jewish homes.Arnon recalled a specific incident in which an Arab woman tried to stab an IDF soldier with a knife. The soldiers grabbed her, but were attacked by a group of anarchist volunteers who tried to free the woman and take the knife out of her hand and hide it.In recent months, Jewish organizations have also come to Hevron to stand up to the anarchist activists. The Jewish activists investigate the anarchists regarding their entry to Israel and strengthen the morale of the soldiers in withstanding attacks by leftist extremists.
Some have expressed skepticism regarding the veracity of this story. One such blogger is Mobius, who make his views regarding Arutz Sheva clear from the outset.
Arutz Sheva (the right-wing Jewish nationalist news service run by unrepentant Arab-hating Kahanists
He almost lost me there, since I happen to know some of the people involved with Arutz Sheva, who are anything but Arab-hating Kahanists. Maybe Mobius considers his sister to fit this description, but she doesn’t represent everyone.
Mobius then proceeds to raise a number of points to refute the notion that this story has a grain of truth to it.
Number one: The ISM is not even active in Hebron. The only international activist presence there is the Christian Peacemakers Team who function as human shields, defending Palestinian school children from being attacked by settlers.
Number two: Palestinians may, indeed, have grievances with ISM and other Palestinian solidarity activists for their possible promotion of anti-nationalist political views and their likelihood of challenging sexism, homophobia and antisemitism in Palestinian society. However, every ISMer I have ever known (and I’ve met quite a number) has been excrutiatingly sensitive to Palestinian and Islamic culture, tip-toeing on eggshells trying to tread as lightly as possible. They seek to serve Palestinian interests to the point where they’ve been accused of helping facilitate terror attacks (which is also fallacious considering ISM is committed to principles of non-violence; though I could see ISMers being taken advantage of for their naivite and eagerness to assist). Take Rachel Corrie, for example, and the famous photo of her covering her hair out of respect for the Palestinians with whom she was active. One day they’re willingly covering their hair (which pro-Israel fanatics take as a sign of their romanticization of jihadis), and the next they’re having wild sex orgies and getting the kids hooked on drugs? It’s a highly dubious allegation.
The story does not mention anything about getting the kids hooked on drugs nor wild sex orgies. This is merely hyperbole used by Mobius to make his point. Even if we accept his point about the ISMers sensitivity towards palestinians, it is not inconceivable that, at the same time, they may be showing public displays of affection, or even smoking dope in their lodgings. It is also not inconceivable that they may be doing these things with local young palestinians whom they have befriended. The ISMers are relatively young themselves, and do not necessarily possess the maturity to abstain from these things entirely.
Regarding the point about Rachel Corrie, I suppose that this was also an example of her just being “excrutiatingly sensitive to Palestinian and Islamic culture”?
Number three: Noam Arnon, the Hebron spokesman who was interviewed by Arutz Sheva, is obviously full of it. It is suspected that he did not speak with any Palestinians at all — because it’s unlikely that he’d have come within five feet of a Palestinian other than to engage in armed combat — but rather hatched this plot with the assistance of an Israeli agent provocateur (whose name I have been requested to withhold due to impending legal proceedings) to whom he has been directly linked. This provocateur is a Jew of Arab descent, a fluent speaker of Arabic, and one who maintains relations with both the Jewish and Palestinian communities of Hebron. This individual also has a history of instigating, including leading Israeli anti-occupation activists into both Kahanist and Israeli military ambushes. He is about to be served with a suit for libel — specifically for spreading the lie that one Israeli anarchist raped his own friend, and the alleged rapist and “rapee” are in the process of filing joint charges against him. Some believe that this provocateur used the story of this rape to mislead the Palestinians interviewed by Kol HaIr.I haven’t yet seen the Kol HaIr piece, but something does certainly seem fishy about the interviews. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing turns out to be a fabrication.
Regarding the comments about Noam Arnon, I ask Mobius whether he actually knows him well enough (or even at all) to paint him as someone not only incapable of conversing with palestinians, but also very capable of harming them. From what I have read online about Arnon, I have no basis to believe that he is as Mobius characterizes him. For instance, consider this statement by him I found in an interview.
“Here we want to live in peace. We, we want to live in peace with the Arabs here, and I’m sure most of the normal people in the world will support us.”
I can’t comment on Mobius’ conspiracy theory, except to say that it seems weird that Mobius would mention it in the context of conjecturizing that the palestinian interviewed by Kol Hair was mislead, yet in the next paragraph express the view that the whole interview was probably fabricated. Which is it?
Number four: Why in God’s name would Palestinians take up a grievance they have with the international activist community with Jewish settlers? If the Palestinians have the Left-wing in their back pocket, as is often the stated charge, why wouldn’t they just address their eager minions of fresh-faced activists?
Perhaps they feel more comfortable speaking with others who frown upon “sexual lewdness and depravity, permissiveness, and drug use.” And perhaps the relationship between the Arab and Jewish communities of Hebron, goes beyond the simplistic “settler beats Arab” model that you advocate. Of course, you could also ask “Why in God’s name would Palestinians take up a grievance” by blowing themselves up. Logic does not always enter the equation.
Number five: As if there weren’t enough sex and drugs in Tel Aviv, anarchists need to go into Palestinian communities to get high and f***? Oh-puh-leeze. The logic is baffling.
This is not the contention. No-one suggested that the anarchists go into the palestinian communities with the express purpose of getting high and copulating. But that sure doesn’t preclude the possibility that while they are there, they engage in such activities.
Number six: You’ll notice the agenda of the article from its language alone. Palestinians are “PA Arabs” because “there’s no such thing as a Palestinian” according to Kahanism and other right-wing philosophies which negate Palestinian identity. Further, the Palestinian territories in the West Bank are referred to as Judea and Samaria which are the ancient biblical names for those lands, which Kahanists and their ilk still see as ostensibly Jewish. The author’s seething contempt for Palestinians is apparent, though he has no compunction using alleged Palestinian claims to advance the Kahanist agenda to bar all humanitarian activists from monitoring and counteracting settler activities in the occupied territories. Anyone who would take this article at face value needs to develop a more thorough grounding in media criticism.
There is no denying that Arutz Sheva have an agenda – a worthwhile one at that. However, this fact alone doesn’t automatically negate the veracity of this story.
* After posting this, I noticed that a commenter on Mobius’ blog confirmed that the ISM are indeed involved in Hebron
About the Author
An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.Filed Under: General
i’ve updated the post to reflect new information regarding the case.
I happen to know some of the people involved with Arutz Sheva, who are anything but Arab-hating Kahanists.
good for you. of the half-dozen staff members at arutz sheva i’ve met, every one of them is a jewish supremacist. i had a lovely shabbat lunch with a handful of them in tzefat one afternoon during which they denigrated every israeli arab member of the idf.
The story does not mention anything about getting the kids hooked on drugs nor wild sex orgies. This is merely hyperbole used by Mobius to make his point.
perhaps hyperbolic, yes. however lighter versions of these allegations are in the initial kol hair piece on which the arutz sheva story is based. further allegations include that a palestinian boy was raped by an ISMer. the source of these allegations is also addressed in my revised post.
Regarding the comments about Noam Arnon, I ask Mobius whether he actually knows him well enough (or even at all) to paint him as someone not only incapable of conversing with palestinians, but also very capable of harming them. From what I have read online about Arnon, I have no basis to believe that he is as Mobius characterizes him. For instance, consider this statement by him I found in an interview.
“Here we want to live in peace. We, we want to live in peace with the Arabs here, and I’m sure most of the normal people in the world will support us.”
…and that’s why i chose to live in the mostly hotly contested piece of real estate in the middle east and use the force of the israeli army to secure my community which has a reputation for instigating conflict with our arab neighbors.
dave, it’s one thing to say, “come on mobius, you don’t know they guy, you can’t really just say that outright;” and another entirely to say “the people in hebron want peace.” the former is fair and something i can concede; the latter is intellectually dishonest bullsh*t. the people in hebron aren’t there for peace, they’re there to wage a holy war. and i have video of their community leaders like noam federman saying so. hell, the bat ayin bombers got their materials from kiryat arbah, and that’s on the public record as well. the hebron community is deeply tied to kfar tapuach. so telling the press they want peace is just their weasely way of blaming the arabs for the conflict. lest we forget that the arabs will say the same thing as they’re loading their weapons. just keep in mind who fired the first shot of this intifada: baruch goldstein of kiryat arbah.
I can’t comment on Mobius’ conspiracy theory, except to say that it seems weird that Mobius would mention it in the context of conjecturizing that the palestinian interviewed by Kol Hair was mislead, yet in the next paragraph express the view that the whole interview was probably fabricated. Which is it?
i didn’t mean to suggest that the interview was fabricated. rather, just the stories that the palestinians were telling. and now i have confirmation that they were, and that all evidence to the contrary was left out of the kol hair article by the apparently biased “journalist.”
And perhaps the relationship between the Arab and Jewish communities of Hebron, goes beyond the simplistic “settler beats Arab” model that you advocate. Of course, you could also ask “Why in God’s name would Palestinians take up a grievance” by blowing themselves up. Logic does not always enter the equation.
you know, that’s true. sometimes it’s “arab shoots and kills settler’s baby.” either way, they’re not precisely on speaking terms.
There is no denying that Arutz Sheva have an agenda – a worthwhile one at that. However, this fact alone doesn’t automatically negate the veracity of this story.
and that’s the rub of it. the whole issue here is “to what lengths of dishonesty are you willing to go in order for your side to win.” your answer is, “as far as it takes.”
After posting this, I noticed that a commenter on Mobius’ blog confirmed that the ISM are indeed involved in Hebron
the tel rumeida project isn’t ISM. it’s an independent group consisting of some ISM members and former ISM members. they aren’t under the jurisdiction of ISM.
but again, i’ve revised the post heavily. as i stated yesterday, that was only what i knew so far. the picture is much clearer now.
on a final note, truly and sincerely: mazal tov on the birth and bris of your son.
Thanks for the reply, and taking my post in the spirit it was intended. Thanks also for the kind wishes on the birth and bris of my son.
Now on to my reply.
This does not mean that the station is run by Kahanists. And while I condemn denigrating “every israeli arab member of the idf”, this alone does not render someone a “Kahanist.” These people do not necessarily advocate transfer, nor some of the other positions of Kahane. Unless you were privy to some other things they said, that lead you to believe this.
People choose to live in Hebron out of religious conviction. Heck, it is in this week’s parsha that Avraham purchases the Cave of Machpelah! And we are talking about Noam Arnon, not Federman. I don’t doubt some of Hebron’s Jews want the Arabs out, but I also don’t doubt that many would be willing to live in peace with the Arabs, as long as the terror ends.
You would be surprised what goes on behind the scenes. I am not suggesting that for sure this is the case here, but I know of other situations in which a cooperation between the Jews and Arabs was revealed. It is not SO far-fetched to me.
That is putting words in my mouth. I might agree with much of what Arutz Sheva says, but I don’t think they should be in the business of fabricating or falsifying. For example, I took them to task months ago, when they suggested that the stoning of a palestinian youth was staged, based on photo evidence. After examining the evidence, I eventually concluded that it was NOT staged. I subsequently alerted Arutz Sheva as to my findings, and criticized them for not amending their report immediately.
Be that as it may, it doesn’t change anything. In your initial version of the post, the point of your claim that it was not the ISM in Hebron – but rather Christian and Quaker peaceniks over 30 – was to suggest that they are not the type to engage in the alleged lewd and immoral behavior. Now that you admit that an ISM splinter group is involved there, this point is no longer relevant.
it’s not an “admission” — it was a lack of information. i asked around before the first posting and everyone i had spoken to told me there was no ISM in hebron. then yesterday i spoke to more people and found out they were, in the form of the tel rumeida project.
ok..
Referring to one of the “this”, I always wonder whether those who consider all Jewish settlements in (the Arab part of) Palestine obviously illegal also consider all Arab settlements in Israel (the Jewish part of Palestine) obviously illegal.
And I wonder whether these people have any explanation for why Jews living in (the Arab part of) Palestine need the army for protection while Arabs living in Israel do apparently not.
I have as much respect for Arabs who have to live next to Jews on “their” land as I have for Jews who have to live next to Arabs in Israel. And I have as much disrespect for Arabs attacking such Jews as I have for Jews attacking such Arabs.
Who on the Arab side of the argument can say the same thing?
Arutz Sheva is a racist and ignorant group; but the story does have some validity to it. I have some experience with the ISM and similar groups (and I am a Muslim) and most are good-hearted but ignorant about the conflict and culture of the region. Now, sometimes they do things that are helpful in protecting Palestinians living under siege, and other times they are just misbehaving like the spoiled brats many of them are. I also unfortunately know, because I have seen it, that many of these people seek to be at “one with nature” and not engage in bourgeois hygienic norms and do not bathe and are in fact involved in orgies which include homosexual acts and that is not something that is looked upon favorably amongst Palestinians in Hebron. Mobius is right though, most of these activist tip-toe and try their best to not offend the cultural sensibilities of the locals.
Jihad of Umar
umarlee.blogspot.com
I understand a “Palestinian” is a non-Jewish inhabitant of Palestine?
Why is it considered right-wing not to subscribe to that definition?