Aviad Glickman
Published: 12.31.09, 08:56 / Israel News
In 1997, Jack Teitel was an American tourist who rented a car, murdered a man and fled Israel. In 2000, a lie detector test led to his release. Documents obtained by Ynet reveal police and Shin Bet's failure in getting their hands on Jewish terrorist for 12 years
I just learned that Peace Now Secretary General Yariv Oppenheimer was on Israeli terrorist Yaakov Teitel's hit list.Today, as Jews worldwide commemorate the desecration of the Temple and celebrate its rededication, Jewish extremists, most likely West Bank settlers, desecrated a mosque in a Palestinian village near Nablus.
The mosque, in the Palestinian village of Yasuf, was torched. Copies of the Koran were burnt. Hateful graffiti in Hebrew was sprayed at the site referring to the settlers' "Price Tag" vigilante operation to attack Palestinians and Israeli security forces to deter Israel's authorities from enforcing the law on the settlers.
This is not the first time that Jewish extremists intentionally desecrate a Muslim house of worship in order to foment violence. It is a deplorable tactic that should be confronted decisively by the Israeli authorities. There should be zero tolerance when it comes to such hate-crimes that might ignite violence throughout the West Bank and the region.
We are gratified that Israel's Peace Now movement will send a delegation to the village of Yasuf over the weekend, to express solidarity and denounce the settlers' ongoing violence. We are also happy to see that the Anti Defamation League issued a strong condemnation.
We urge other American Jewish groups to do the same.
On this Hanukkah, lets all think about the importance of fighting hatred and fanaticism and about the imperative of pursuing peace.
