A split may be imminent in the Gush Emunim, the predominantly Orthodox militants who have been the driving force for the establishment and expansion of Jewish settlements in the administered territories.
The rift is between hardliners who demand draconian measures against the Arab populace and resort to violent demonstrations in reprisal for terrorist acts, and the more moderate elements who fear the movement has been diverted from its original aim to enlarge the Jewish population in the territories and to prove they can co-exist peacefully with the Arabs.
These differences, simmering for more than a year, came into the open last week when key figures in the Jewish settlements publicly criticized the leadership of Gush Emunim secretary general Daniella Weiss and demanded her resignation.
Weiss was taken to task for leading several dozen settlers in a pre-dawn rampage through the Arab town of Kalkilya last Wednesday in retaliation for a gasoline bomb attack the previous day on an Israeli vehicle there. The bomb caused no injuries or damage.
The expanded forum of the Gush secretariat is expected to meet soon to discuss plans to replace Weiss. There were consultations Monday among the various factions to reach some sort of understanding before the meeting.
The opposition, headed by former Tehiya Party MK Hanan Porat and Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun called for a meeting this Thursday. It was eventually set for next Monday.
BLUE-PRINT FOR POLITICAL ACTION PLANNED
Gush extremists, led by Weiss and Rabbi Moshe Levinger of Hebron, plan to present a detailed blue-print for political action in the territories. Their opponents want to discuss structural and personnel changes in the leadership and democratization of its working procedures.
If no agreement is reached on the agenda, each faction might call a different meeting which in effect would mean a split in the movement.
The case of the moderates was strengthened Sunday when Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin lashed out against settler “pogroms” in the West Bank. He told a Labor Party forum in Tel Aviv that Gush Emunim violence leads only to the escalation of Arab terrorism.
“Those who stage pogroms like the one in Kalkilya are playing into the terrorists’ hands. We have to distinguish between those Arabs who commit terrorist attacks and those who do not,” Rabin said.
ATTEMPT TO DISRUPT PEACE NOW RALLY
Meanwhile, some 200 Gush Emunim supporters attempted Sunday to disrupt a demonstration by the Peace Now movement in support of an international conference for Middle East peace. They carried placards accusing Peace Now of supporting the PLO. Soldiers and police prevented a confrontation.
The North American Friends of Peace Now published advertisements in the local press Monday backing an international conference. The ad was signed by 100 prominent Jews from the U.S. and Canada. “As American and Canadian Jews, we affirm our commitment to a strong and democratic Israel, and to the highest of Jewish values, peace,” it said.
Among the Americans who signed were Leonard Fein, Philip Klutznik, Seymour Martin Lipset, and Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
