Demolition of the Kaisler home
Demolition of the Kaisler homeScreenshot

An incisive political satire in cartoon form attempts to explain how it came about that the defense ministry, which is headed by a nationalist, has found itself carrying out left-wing policies at the behest of unelected legal experts.

Settlement enterprise leaders were shocked in early February when IDF Civil Administration bulldozers under heavy guard razed the home of the Kaisler family in the community of Kida in Samaria. The order was signed by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon (“Bogie”), whose political reputation is that of a staunch nationalist – and thus a friend of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria.

Shocked settlement enterprise leaders found it hard to understand why a man of Yaalon's political stripe would enable the destruction of the Kaisler family's home, with very little prior warning and before personal items could be removed, in an act that many see as pure vengeance against a prominent pro-settlement activist. 

Yaalon initially protested that he had been led to believe that the home to be demolished was unoccupied, but later denied that he had been misled by the Civil Administration. A Defense Ministry inquiry did, however, find evidence that points to “failings” in the way the demand to demolish the structure were presented to Yaalon.

The cartoon, which is featured on the YouTube account of an activist group called Hamate Hameshutaf, illustrates the process leading up to the demolition as a Mortal Combat-type duel between “Left-bot” – representing the leftist legal establishment in Israel – and “Bogie-bot.” Left-bot tells Bogie-bot to destroy illegal construction in Judea and Samaria. When Bogie-bot complies and starts to deal with rampant Arab illegal construction, Left-bot orders him to stop and explains that he was not referring to Arabs.

When Bogie-bot protests repeatedly and explains that he cannot destroy the Jewish homes, because of legal and political considerations, the Left-bot bares its teeth and reminds him he is “only the Defense Minister,” and that the High Court only approves motions filed by Arabs. When he notes that there is a family inside the home, Left-bot responds: “these are not people – these are settlers.”

English language subtitles for the cartoon are not available at this time.