Israel Should Designate Jewish Extremist Groups as Terror Organizations

Recent reports highlight escalating violence by Jewish extremists in the West Bank, including an incident where over 100 rioters disrupted the IDF's attempt to enforce a Supreme Court ruling. The ruling mandated the return of a Palestinian family to their home in the village of Jaloud, from which they were displaced due to harassment. The rioters blocked roads, attacked security forces injuring soldiers, damaged vehicles, and set fire to Palestinian homes and property.

Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the riots, calling them the actions of a "small handful" and urging law enforcement to prosecute the perpetrators with full severity. Defense Minister Israel Katz also acknowledged the "severity of the actions of a handful of rioters." However, the article argues that condemnations are insufficient and that legal means to combat Jewish terrorism must be fully utilized.

The author questions the effectiveness of the Defense Minister's decision two years prior to cancel administrative arrest warrants against Jews, suggesting it undermines a resolute fight against this phenomenon. A more effective legal tool, the article proposes, is to designate extremist Jewish organizations as terror groups under Israel's 2016 Anti-Terrorism Law. This law defines a terror organization as an "organized and continuous body of people" that carries out or intends to carry out terror acts, including "umbrella organizations" that provide substantial assistance.

The process for designating an organization as terror involves a request from the Shin Bet or another security chief, with the Defense Minister making a temporary declaration after consulting the Shin Bet head and the Attorney General. The organization then has the right to a hearing before an advisory committee, after which the Defense Minister can make the designation permanent. Such a designation carries significant criminal prohibitions, including prohibitions on transferring property, failing to report on property suspected of being used by a terror organization, membership, and providing services or means to the group.

The article notes that this approach is consistent with the principle that combating organized terror requires targeting not just individual perpetrators but also the organizations themselves, particularly through financial means. While acknowledging potential challenges to human rights, such as freedom of association and expression, the author points out that designating organizations as terror groups is a recognized practice in democratic states. Israel previously designated the "Kach" and "Kahane Chai" movements as terror organizations in 1994, a designation that remains in effect.

The author suggests that designating extremist Jewish groups as terror organizations would significantly aid in combating them. Currently, prosecuting individual rioters can be difficult due to anonymity. If the organization itself is designated, membership and activity within it could lead to prosecution, even without proving participation in a specific act. Furthermore, property and funds used by the organization could be seized or frozen, and those providing resources could be prosecuted. The article concludes by questioning why such effective measures used against Palestinian terrorism are not employed against Jewish terrorism, especially given potential government ties to those providing resources for such attacks.