Professor Zev Sternhell, the far-left academic attacked by “Jewish terrorist” Jack Teitel, accused Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) of fostering violence in an interview with Channel 2 following Teitel’s conviction.
“This violence is an inseparable part of our lives,” he said. “[Teitel] himself does not interest me, what interests me is the phenomenon of political violence.”
According to Sternhell, “Teitel represents the phenomenon in its most extreme form, but there are infinite more moderate forms of violence that happen nearly every day in the territories [Judea and Samaria – ed.].”
“Teitel’s violence is not a lone case… it did not happen suddenly with no context,” he continued. “Teitel lived in a certain atmosphere, a certain environment, where expressions of violence are not unusual. Extreme-right people who use these tactics are not working in a vacuum.”
Sternhell made headlines for his far-left views in 2008 when he was named one of the winners of the Israel Prize. There were petitions against the decision to award him the prize due to previous statements of his advocating that the IDF “storm Ofra with tanks” and that Arab terrorists target Jews living east of the 1949 armistice line.
Teitel attempted to bomb his home later that year. Sternhell was lightly wounded in the attack.
Yaakov “Jack” Teitel was born and raised in the United States, and committed the murders for which he was sentenced Tuesday while visiting Israel as an American tourist. He immigrated to Israel two years later and received citizenship the next year. He was quiet for several years, but resumed attacks in 2006, and was convicted of five bombings between then and 2008.