Yesha leaders come out against extremist violence

Yesha Council leaders voiced rare criticism against the violent acts of far Right activists on Sunday after unknown assailants punctured the tires of Yesha official Ze'ev Hever.

In a Yesha Council conference in Ofra, chairman Danny Dayan said, "Violence has become common currency in our camps while we remain silent."

Related stories:

• Ulpana: Gov't sub-contractors pelted with stones
• West Bank: Jewish teens hurl stones at cars
• Settlement, Arab villages in war of attrition
  

We have all acted for the sake of Migron and the Ulpana neighborhood, but how many of us have done something to stop the ugly practice of veiled teens hurling stones with slingshots? How many of us have done something to stop the torching of police cars?"

Dayan added that those present were not innocent of such acts and called to end silence on the matter. "I shamefully admit that even when a Molotov cocktail was hurled at a children's room in Hawara and I presented a condemnation resolution at the Yesha Council, I was told 'We do not condemn the harming of Arabs'," Dayan said.

"We are no less faithful to the Land of Israel than these people. These acts present the biggest threat to the settlement enterprise. More than Barack Obama, Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu."

'We woke up too late'

Amana Secretary-General Zeev Hever stressed that violence did not grow in a void. "Over the years I would take teens catching rides but in the past year I see the rage in their eyes and sometimes I don't stop to avoid this unpleasant situation," he admitted. "We cannot stay silent any longer. We have to clear the air. We won't be stopped with punctured tires."

Prominent Religious Zionism Rabbi Yaakov Meidan also came out against extremist violence and condemned silence on the issue.

"Unfortunately we have woken up too late. Whoever failed to protest the Molotov cocktail hurled on a Arab woman in Hawara and the stones hurled on a jeep, finds himself today faced with Zambish's (Zeev Hever) punctured tires and tomorrow will encounter a much harsher reality."

• Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
  

• Receive Ynetnews updates directly to your desktop