Lag B'Omer - the 33rd day between Pesach and Shavuot- is a minor Jewish holiday that celebrates (among other things) the cessation of a divinely-sent plague that resulted from people not showing one another adequate respect. It is celebrated with bonfires, and great joy. Let us also look forward to a cessation of all the ills that Israel suffers from, and look forward to joy, peace and security.

This week, Alpher discusses the new "iNakba" app; last week's visit by PM Binyamin Netanyahu to Japan and of President Shimon Peres to Norway; what Israeli chief negotiator Tzipi Livni's meeting in London with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas against a backdrop of surprising progress in the Palestinian drive to form a Fateh-Hamas unity government tells us about the chances for reviving the peace process; and the level of intrigue over the Knesset electing a new president to replace Shimon Peres.

Following the recent increase in “Price Tag” hate-crimes in Israel, including the desecration of Christian and Muslim houses of worship, we called on American friends of Israel to join APN in urging the Israeli authorities to seriously confront this ugly phenomenon.

On Sunday, the Anti-Defamation League’s Abraham Foxman published a powerful article in Israel’s Haaretz, headlined “Israel cannot wait any longer to crush price tag attacks.”

Mental illness soars in Gaza
Rasha Abou Jalal / Foreign Policy
May 7, 2014

"Abu Ashraf, a 47-year-old Gazan, spends the majority of his time in his small room with no means of entertainment and only leaves to use the restroom. He sits on his bed for long hours, smoking, with no desire to see or talk to anyone . . ." Read More >

Palestinians and Israelis can coexist if occupation ends
Hussein Ibish / The National
January 18, 2013

"The unstable and unhealthy relationship of dominance and subordination, of discipline and control through violence, built into Israel’s occupation was graphically illustrated this week in two separate, tragic and bloody incidents . . ." Read More >

Racism in Israel: A Predictable Byproduct of Occupation
Lara Friedman / APN Blog
July 26, 2012

"Two generations of Israelis have now been born and raised in an Israel that must constantly find ways to justify the occupation, including justifying both the denial of rights and freedoms to Palestinians and the ever-growing settlement enterprise . . ." Read More >

Go to Hebron
Ori Nir / APN Blog
May 5, 2009

"Go to Hebron. Observe how several hundreds of ultra-national Israeli settlers, a minority in a Palestinian town of 160,000 - have turned the lives of its Palestinians residents into a living hell. . . ." Read More >

< Go back to APN:OC - Op-eds

"Price Tag," started out as an initiative of a segment of Israeli settlers (the most well-known referred to as the “Hilltop Youth”) and their supporters inside the Green Line (and with supporters overseas).  Their goal was and remains to deter action by the IDF and Israeli police against illegal settlement outposts (or any other settler activity that violates Israeli law) by making Israeli authorities believe that the costs of such action – in terms of disruptive or violent actions by settlers – would be prohibitive. These actions have involved settlers trying to physically block Israeli forces from tearing down illegal construction, rampaging through the area, attacking Palestinians (leading to injuries) and their property (including mosques), and harassing and even attacking Israeli security installations and personnel (leading to injuries). 

Over the years Price Tag has escalated and spread into East Jerusalem and across the Green Line, into Israel, with attacks targeting Palestinian and Palestinian-Israeli individuals, neighborhoods, villages, and religious sites (Christian and Muslim), including mosques, churches and cemeteries. 

The “Price Tag” phenomenon is a subset of the wide issue of settler violence and lawlessness; in terms of organized settler violence/terror, it is only the most recent phenomenon, with violence dating back to the late 70s and the Jewish Underground (for a brief history, see here and here).

Selected Resources

APN’s "Price Tag" Escalation Timeline: Jan 1, 2011 - present
This page (updated regularly) presents a timeline of major "Price Tag" attacks, as reported by Israeli sources.  It documents a clear escalation in attacks, and the increasing spread of attacks inside the Green Line. Where clear, indicates so-called "triggers" - events or developments that appear to be linked to subsequent attacks - although as has been noted in the Israeli press, "According to the Shin Bet, the right-wing extremists no longer appear to need a 'trigger' to take action, while the targets of the violence are also widening..." We will update this regularly.

West Bank Settlers’ Terrorizing of Palestinians to Deter Israeli Government Law Enforcement
This report, by APN’s Ori Nir for Case Western University School of Law (4/3/12), takes a deeper look into the phenomenon of settler violence over the years.

"Settler violence” – videos
Part of the B’tslem camera project, this video channel in an archive of short videos, shot by Palestinians, of the settler violence they face (and often documents the actions, or lack thereof, of Israeli security personnel during these incidents)

Institutionalized Impunity – Israel’s Failure to Combat settler Violence in the occupied Palestinian territory
A report by the Palestinian Human Rights organization Al Haq Report (2012), chronicling the phenomenon of settler violence and examining the context for dealing with under international law.

The Price of Law Enforcement Failure – Israeli Settler Violence and the Evacuation of Outposts
A report from OCHA – the UN Office for the Coordination of Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory (November 2009).

Violence by Extremists in the Jewish Settler Movement - A Rising Challenge
A report on the phenomenon of settler violence from researchers at WINEP - the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (November 25, 2008).

Selected articles/posts by APN

5/14/14: Price Tag featured Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher
5/8/14: APN campaign – #stoppricetag
2/5/14: Peace Now's 'Price Tag' Tour
11/18/13: Price Tag featured Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher
12/30/11: The Cost of Appeasing Settler Terrorism (APN’s Lara Friedman in the Huffington Post)
12/27/11: Price Tag featured Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher
8/4/10: Stand against Israel's extremists (APN's Ori Nir in the Washington Jewish Week)
12/28/11: The State of the Anarchists (Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer in Maariv)
4/5/11: YNet - "Price Tag" is dangerous for Israel (by Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer)
7/19/10: The Extremist Settler's Guide to Getting Away with Terror (APN’s Lara Friedman)
6/9/10:  "Price Tag" Crosses the Green Line (Ori Nir)
4/33/10: LA Jewish Journal - Lag B’omer’s Price Tag (by APN’s Luis Lainer)
11/13/09: A Short History of Israeli Right Wing Terrorism (APN’s Ori Nir)

Selected Analysis/Commentary, by year

2014

5/12/14: Yes, there are Hebrew neo-Nazi groups (Amos Oz in YNet)
5/4/14: Shin Bet can stop 'price tag' activities (Carmi Gillon in YNet)
5/3/14: Ex-Shin Bet chief: Israel does not intend to stop ‘price tag’ attacks (Jerusalem Post)
5/3/14: Former security chiefs say Israel doesn't want to stop hate crimes (Haaretz)
4/30/14: U.S. report: 'Price tag' attacks spread into Israel, go unpunished (Haaretz)
2/25/14: Israel seen using kid gloves in 'price tag' crackdown (Reuters)
1/21/14: Settler violence: It comes with the territory (+972)

2013

7/1/13: Israel’s apathetic hunt for 'price tag' attackers (Haaretz)
6/19/13: Outwitted by a bunch of 12-year-olds - Why the army and the Shin Bet are proving humiliatingly incapable of putting a stop to the plague of ‘price tag’ Jewish extremist attacks on Muslim, Christian and Jewish targets (Times of Israel)
6/19/13: Israel Police officer tells Haaretz: War on 'price tag' attacks far from over (Haaretz)
6/18/13: ‘Price tag' epidemic: 788 cases, 154 indictments (YNet)

2012

9/4/12: ‘Price tag' vandals consistently escape prosecution (YNet)
8/14/12: The Rise of Settler Terrorism (Foreign Affairs)
2/13/12: Articles on new "Price Tag" attacks against Peace Now
2/10/12: IDF soldier linked to 'price tag' attack in West Bank Palestinian village
2/9/12:  Two additional price tag attacks in recent days

2011

12/13/11: Israeli law is powerless in the settlements (Haaretz)
12/13/11: Shin Bet: Israel's extreme rightists organizing into terror groups
11/29/11: Price-tag militant rearrested for making death threats (Jerusalem Post)
11/28/11: JPost & Ha'aretz Articles on Suspect in Peace Now Death Threats
11/23/11: Public Security Minister: Threat of another political murder exists in Israel (Haaretz)
11/10/11: ‘88% of Jewish Israelis oppose price tag attacks’ (Jerusalem Post)
11/8/11: Death threats sprayed on home of Peace Now activist, in apparent 'price tag' attack (Haaretz)
10/14/11: Israeli society is standing by as settlers take the reins (Haaretz)
9/13/11: Articles on Vandalism, Threats, against Peace Now (various)
3/28/11: Poll: 46% in favor of 'price tag' (YNet)

2010

4/30/10: Price tag: Who's to blame for settler violence? (YNet)
1/28/10: Badge of terror - While the decision to dismantle West Bank outposts is commendable, one cannot but be amazed by the IDF Spokesman Office's watered-down response to the settlers' terror attack (Haaretz editorial)
1/27/10: Settlers attack Palestinians to avenge West Bank outpost demolition (Haaretz)

2009

12/11/09: Articles on arson attack against West Bank Mosque
10/16/09: Evicted Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Land (NPR)
6/24/09: Some Jewish settlers turning against Israel
6/24/09: Israel wrestles with settler challenge
6/10/09: Rights group warns of growing settler violence

2008

12/4/08: Settlers: We're launching 'price tag' policy across West Bank (YNet)
12/3/08: Radical Jewish settlers threaten to fight Israeli army (McClatchy)
11/3/08: The extreme right has sought to establish a 'balance of terror' (Haaretz)
10/27/08: New Tactics By Settlers Worrying Authorities (New York Jewish Week)
9/25/08: Radical Settlers Take On Israel (New York Times)
9/17/08: Settlers face down IDF, prevent evacuation of West Bank outpost (Haaretz)
9/11/08: West Bank: 2 soldiers lightly injured in clashes with settlers
9/11/08: Gun-toting settlers slaughtered my donkey, Palestinian shepherd says (Haaretz)
8/14/08: Settlers Appear To Be Ramping Up Violence in West Bank (The Forward)
7/25/08: Settlers threaten to exact 'price' in response to evacuations (YNet)
7/24/08: Yitzhar settlers riot in West Bank (YNet)

"I've been in this game for most of my adult life. In the end, the security forces have to do the hard work, sometimes also the dirty and unpleasant work. But the job of the security forces is to create the conditions so that the political echelon can do something with it, and the quiet that was achieved in recent years was an opportunity that the political echelon should not have missed. So you can call Abu Mazen a peace rejectionist. I say that he is not a peace rejectionist. He is not an easy partner for peace, but let's admit the truth--are we easy partners?"  -Yuval Diskin, former head of the Shin Bet, in a 2013 interview in Yediot Ahronot by Dror Moreh, director of the documentary film "The Gatekeepers."

Yuval Diskin is one of the six living heads of the Shin Bet, Israel's security force, who were interviewed in the 2013 Israeli film the Gatekeepers. All six have come to state the obvious: Israel will be secure only when there  is peace with the Palestinians.

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