With Israel in turmoil, its ‘lost boys’ are helping stoke extreme right-wing nationalism
We saw it in the United States on . We witnessed it during Canada’s so-called . The evidence is clear —fascism is on the rise in North America. But ethno-nationalist fascism is growing even faster in the remote areas of occupied Palestine amid that limits the Supreme Court’s ability to check governmental power.
How do these right-wing adherents become seduced by its messaging? For many, the answer lies in that actively radicalizes boys and young men in its fight for an ethno-nationalist state of Israel.
This practice is inspired and associated with the and the , at various points by Israel and the United States for being terrorist groups.
Originally created by the late American-Israeli rabbi Meir Kahane (also the founder of the U.S. ), this fundamentalist and extremist Jewish supremacy group calls for a full Jewish state in Israel and the expulsion and death of Arabs in the region.
Claiming Jewish teachings as justification, Kahanism fuels hate under a guise of piety.
Street kids
Often recruited from unstable homes and off the streets of Jerusalem, these boys — known as “hilltop youth” — typically . Many of them have prior to joining these radical youth groups.
Deeply religious and spurred by a literal interpretation of the Torah, they have taken it upon themselves to create West Bank outposts that are .
While the Israeli government has made promises to remove illegal outposts in these areas for over a decade, and even occasionally clears out the youth in the area, most illegal outposts carry on and , complete with tacit government approval in the form of water, electricity and other utilities.
Beyond simply settling the West Bank, these young men frequently attack Palestinians and their villages, coined “” that refer to the price they will make others pay for lost outposts.
These attacks, ranging from destroying buildings to murder, are seen as a commandment for these Jewish settlers to rid the land of anyone but Jewish inhabitants.
While these youth are most notorious for the of an and a subsequent celebration of the death, their presence has not abated.
Rather, the government has further legitimized their presence in the West Bank by setting up “rehabilitation” programs and homes.
Other youth brought to the West Bank
In addition to offering the young people in this area more infrastructure and supervision from adult settlers, the government also provides schooling. These schools serve the youth illegally occupying these areas, to live and attend school in these outposts.
The “rehabilitation centres” therefore not only legitimize the presence of these outposts in the West Bank, but also allow them to proliferate through their success.
Yeshivas, schools for religious Jewish studies, are also present in these outposts. Most of these yeshivas are who meld Jewish studies with hatred for Palestinians and encourage violence in the name of an all-Jewish state.
While the official policy of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is to , in practice these groups have a much cozier relationship. They are working particularly closely with the officials in the new far-right government, several of whom have , to retain the illegal occupation of the West Bank.
Most recently, these called Desert Frontier, which patrols the West Bank and directly interacts with Palestinians living in the area.
Channelling hatred
This unit is also considered an opportunity for “rehabilitation” for these youth to channel their hatred and violence towards Palestinians in the area into military power and intelligence.
The unit also , helping other youth co-opt Palestinian pastureland for their own use. Though officials often , in private they
That means the Israeli government can blame settler violence on these young extremists and publicly condemn them, but it also benefits from their continued theft of Palestinian land and life.
Inspired by settlers and right-wing extremists before them, and seeking to find acceptance and community after harsh conditions in their home lives, the hilltop youth are using their right-wing ideology as a tool that allows them to harm Palestinians and their villages with no remorse.
While officially held up as a fringe extremist group, these youth are both funded and by a right-wing government seeking to expel all Palestinians from the land.
Larger strategy?
The national security minister himself — Itamar Ben-Gvir — is a , indicating the presence and radicalization of these young men is part of a larger strategy to conquer the land while feigning diplomacy.
As more and more young men are brought to the region to attend these “rehabilitation centres” and then drafted into the army, Israel is preying on these traumatized youth to maintain strongholds in the West Bank.
Rather than receiving counselling and home placements, these boys are encouraged to use their fundamentalist teachings to support the army and government’s goal, no matter the personal toll.
By 91ɫ sociology instructor Anna Lippman of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies
This article is republished from .
