At a time of violent attacks by Palestinians, including the near lynching of a Times of Israel reporter covering a Palestinian demonstration in the town of Beitunia, and a month when violent attacks by Palestinians targeting Jews in Jerusalem (including firebombing, and rock throwing), hit a record high, Joshua Mitnick writes a completely one-sided article on “price-tag” attacks, “Price-Tag Attacks On The Rise And Moving East,” May 16).
The phrase “price tag” refers to vandalism purportedly carried out by “settler” youth, although often found to be perpetrated by the “left,” or Palestinians attempting to demonize the right — a verifiable fact Mitnick chooses to ignore.
He claims that Amos Oz’s extremely inflammatory comparison of “price-tag” vandals to neo-Nazis, kicked up “a storm of protest from right wing politicians.” His remarks actually kicked up a storm of protest among anyone who understands what the term neo-Nazi connotes. One has to be delusional to agree that those who vandalize by spray-painting or slashing tires should be compared to a group that supports the ideologies of a regime that murdered untold millions worldwide.
Amos Oz claims that the actions of the “price-tag vandals” harm Israel. While I agree this is true, his words are far more harmful. In reading Mitnick’s article, one would think that Judea and Samaria, (the “West Bank”), are inhabited entirely by peace-loving Arabs, and spray paint-wielding Jews. His article is written with little context, and a lot of bias, and omission. It does not belong in The Jewish Week, or any responsible newspaper for that matter.
Editor’s Note: There have been news reports of both Palestinians and Jews staging price-tag attacks to implicate the other side. According to authorities, the vast majority of these attacks have been carried out by pro-settler extremists.
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