Amos Oz labels ‘Price Tag’ attackers ‘Hebrew neo-Nazis’
Celebrated Israeli author Amos Oz set off a storm of debate on Friday after saying that Jewish settlers perpetrating so-called ‘Price Tag’ attacks on Muslim and Christian buildings should be branded “Hebrew neo-Nazis”.
The award-winning writer said: “Price-tag and hilltop youth are cute nicknames for a monster that needs to be called what it is: Hebrew neo-Nazi groups.”
Speaking at an event in Tel Aviv, Oz said the only difference between neo-Nazis around the world and those who commit hate crimes in Israel is that “our neo-Nazi groups enjoy the support of numerous nationalist or even racist legislators, as well as rabbis who give them pseudo-religious justification.”
Later that day police said there had been more attacks, with anti-Arab graffiti daubed across a home in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City and a wall near Jerusalem’s Romanian Church vandalised with anti-Jesus slogans.
The hate crimes, which include death threats, racial and religious slurs and the defacing of sacred monuments, are thought to be the work of religious-nationalist Jewish settlers and are understood to be on the increase.
Using spray-paint, vandals self-label their assaults as a “price tag” attack, a reference to the Israeli government “paying” for any curbs on Jewish settlement building on Palestinian land.
Settler groups reacted by filing a complaint with the Israeli police accusing Oz of incitement. The Binyamin and Samaria Residents’ Council said: “His words are serious incitement to racial hatred. He deserves the Nobel Prize in racism.”
The attacks have been ongoing for several years, and authorities routinely criticise them as illegal, but it is unclear what efforts have been taken to reverse the trend.
After a Catholic monastery in Jerusalem became the latest target, Christian leaders in Israel called for a crackdown on the growing vandalism, with religious leaders asking the government to step in.
“Who is behind the violence?” asked Archbishop Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. “Who instructs them? How come they don’t catch the perpetrators?”
A series of attacks against Christian sites recently led to protest marches in Jerusalem and Haifa, and with only two weeks before a high-profile visit to Israel by Pope Francis, the issue has now being catapulted onto the world stage.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
