Judaism is among the oldest religions. According to historians, Judaism history has been marked by violence and conflicts. In the Old Testament, the Bible details how the Jews fought with other communities to secure their lands. Currently, there are ongoing conflicts between the Jews and the Arabs neighbors. Analysts argue that the ongoing wars between the Jews and the Arabs communities are fuelled by the desires of the conservative Israelites who want to reclaim their promised land as claimed in the Bible. According to these Jewish extremists, their violent acts have been justified in their religious doctrines (Walters 2000, p. 34). This paper focuses on the recent act of violence committed by the Jewish extremists.
In August 2012, several incidences of settler attacks were experienced in the West Bank. The Jewish extremists were blamed for these attacks. During the attacks, the extremists torched, vandalized, and destroyed several Palestinian properties. Similarly, during the conflicts, a Palestinian taxi was attacked injuring six passengers. Following the attacks, domestic activists and the international community condemned the radical acts. According to the Jewish extremists, only the Israelites should settle in the West Bank. The presence of Palestinians in this region has fuelled enmity between the Jewish extremists and the Palestine extremists. Owing to this, the recent violence is attributed to the tension between the two communities.
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers believe that they are religiously entitled to the land. According to such individuals, present Israel is the biblical Promised Land. Jewish extremists attribute their violent acts to a religious law that urges individuals whose properties have been stolen to repossess them by force. It is through this religious law, that the extremists justify their unlawful acts against the Arab settlers as legitimate (Juergensmeyer 2000, p. 148). According to them, the Arabs have stolen their land, thus, they have to get it back by force. Jewish extremists believe that their violent attacks on their enemies will one day help them reclaim their alleged stolen land. In this regard, their religious wars and acts of terrorism are considered commands from God.
Another major religious justification of this violence is a covenant. Israelis extremists argue that the Bible reveals how God made an everlasting covenant with their descendant Abraham. Through this covenant, God promised Israelis the land of Israel. By misinterpreting this biblical verse, Jewish extremist groups argue that Israel will never be peaceful until it expels Arabs in its territories. Through this argument, extremists believe that the democratic leaders who have been against their actions are not pure Israelis and that they are foreigners who are only interested in satisfying their interests.
Through the above examples, we realize that the Jewish extremists have many reasons to legitimize their violent acts. According to the group members, they are entitled to self-defense just as the government is entitled to safeguard its citizens from an external attack. Occasionally, settler attacks on Palestinian are legitimized as self-defense acts. Equally, through the rights of free speech fundamentalist groups such as Jewish extremists have been able to propagate hate speeches. This implies that the rights to free speech should be restructured to ensure that no one abuses them and though consequences are put in place to punish the offenders. Like all other religious extremists, Jewish extremists will always find ways to legitimize their violent acts against the Arabs. This implies that they will always use selective scriptures to justify their illegalities (Rapoport & Alexander 1982, p. 45). Recently the US considered the group proceeds as acts of terrorism. In this regard, all the relevant authorities must work together to ensure that such violence is condemned and prevented in the future.
References
Juergensmeyer, M. 2000. Terror in the mind of God: the global rise of religious violence.: University of California Press. Berkeley.
Rapoport, D. C., & Alexander, Y. 1982. The Morality of terrorism: religious and secular justifications.: Pergamon Press. New York.
Walters, J. 2000. One Aryan nation under God: exposing the new racial extremists.: Pilgrim Press. Cleveland, Ohio.