Oded Revivi Warns Silence on West Bank Violence Risks Settlement Future

Oded Revivi, former head of the Efrat local council and a senior figure in the Yesha Council, responded sharply to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Herzog's strong condemnation of the recent events in Kuseira. Revivi, who served over 15 years as Efrat's council leader and was closely connected to Ambassador Herzog, criticized right-wing leaders who claim to support settlement expansion but whose actions, including silence, undermine the cause. He emphasized that the ambassador's harsh language, labeling Israeli actors in Kuseira as "Israeli terrorists" and their actions as "criminal," was not only due to the events themselves but also due to the lack of clear moral guidance from Israeli leadership.

Revivi warned those on the right who oppose settlement efforts to avoid mischaracterizing Ambassador Herzog, whom he called a great friend of the settlement movement in the U.S. He stressed that the official Israeli silence in Jerusalem regarding these events was particularly troubling to the ambassador, who expected Israel to uphold moral clarity. Revivi urged that political infighting and election-driven calculations must not jeopardize the national interest or the settlement enterprise.

He concluded by calling for immediate correction and renewed support for the settlements, warning that continued silence and internal division would come at a high cost to the settlement project. Revivi framed Ambassador Herzog's rebuke as a wake-up call for Israeli leaders to realign their moral compass and protect what has been built in the West Bank.