Douglas Altabef is Chairman of the Board of Im Tirtzu, and a Director of the Israel Independence Fund.
Sometimes the incessant braying of ill or uninformed demonizers counterintuitively contains and conveys a certain “wisdom:" That wisdom might be summed up as the realization that there is no judgment, no discernment coming from the haters, and therefore no explanation, let alone apology is needed.
Quite the opposite: ironically, blind and thoughtless hatred provides a certain clarity that allows us to see things for what they truly are.
The demonization of the evil “settlers" is a great case in point. The excoriation of settlers started as a way to denigrate and to demonize Hilltop Youth mendaciously as marauding bands of violent thugs who were wantonly preying on innocent Palestinians.
Not surprisingly, there was no attempt to see the larger picture, certainly not to contextualize those few youth as a Samaria based Jewish Defense League. Quite simply, they are portrayed as a mob.
Yes, there have been some unprompted attacks by such youths. They are not vying for sainthood. But analyses of supposedly definitive data concerning hilltop youth violence shows a very different picture. The overwhelming majority of the cases and the statistics cited are either in response to violent attacks by Palestinian Arabs or have nothing at all to do with violence or with hilltop youth.
It is increasingly evident that this issue is a weak reed being brandished by Europeans and Leftists as a way of justifying their certain need for a Palestinian Arab state. After all, how can poor Palestinian Arabs be allowed to go about their business when they are being endlessly harassed by marauding youth?
The Palestinian Arabs know a good thing when they see it, and they see in this denigration a great opportunity to paint with a broader and less discriminating brush. So now, anyone ascending the Temple Mount is a settler; in fact, anyone approaching the Western Wall is a settler.
Come to think of it. Any Jew who is living in "occupied" Palestine (from the river to the sea) is a settler. We Israelis are all settlers now. The nukba terrorists said it on October 7.
Clearly the selection and doubling down on this characterization is related to a belief that reflexively ignorant and hateful supporters will pile on to this perspective and see the situation here as a simple and compelling one:
-Jews are occupiers, violent and willing to wreak havoc in order to cling to their occupation.
-Palestinian Arabs must be exonerated, protected and empowered. How can they go on if they are under constant threat of evil and violent settlers?
The willingness of the demonizers to label basically every Israeli Jew as an "occupier" provides great clarity as to what the Palestinian Arab strategy is all about. It actually exceeds the issue of a two state solution since it labels all Israelis as invading vermin.
Therefore it seems quite inconceivable that the Palestinian Arabs would accept half a loaf - some part of Judea/Samaria as a Palestinian state and then go about the business of nation building.
Especially since October 7th, it has become apparent that as “from the river to the sea" implies, the Palestinian Arab mindset, goal and mission is to eliminate any Jewish presence, not only from Judea/Samaria, but also from pre-1967 Israel, recognized by the UN.
The Palestinian Arabs are therefore showing their hand for any who care to look at it- and clearly. They have done such a good job of inflaming the useful idiots that march, demonstrate and provide aggressive support throughout Europe, Australia and America thar they have internalized the mindless sloganeering and have conflated it with serious policy strategy.
This makes Israel’s job harder, yet also easier. Harder because it seems like the hatred of Israel/Jews has become a worldwide flavor of the month and is inescapable.
Easier because there are no serious discussions to be had with an adversary that purely and simply seeks your annihilation. What do you? Meet them halfway?
So, in response to the accusation of us all being settlers, the only answer is “guilty as charged." And by the way, do you know that settlers of different nationalities and locales succeeded in transforming much of the world?
Settlers are pioneers, they bring development, change and new thinking to wherever it is that they are settling. The settling of Israel saw the draining of the swamps, the deserts made to bloom and the rise of a sophisticated and humane society.
Israel was basically settled by those who, armed with our Bible, saw the return to the Land of which Jews were absentee owners, a land that needed settling to assure that the dream of return was far more than just an aspiration. And they succeeded beyond all belief.
So yes, I for one am happy to be associated with the vast majority of hilltop youth, who are seeking to provide security and plant deep Jewish roots in our ancestral Land. I wear the moniker of "settler" with pride and consider it a badge of courage.
Join me. After all, we are all settlers now.