With summer beginning to wind down and many of us returning to our regular routines, I hope you’ve had some time for rest and renewal. The return to routine also brings us to the beginning of the Jewish month of Elul and our journey toward the High Holidays.
Elul is traditionally a time of reflection, repentance, and taking an honest accounting of ourselves. It calls us to look inward, both as individuals and as a people.
This is why we need to pay attention to what is happening near Qusra, a Palestinian village in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), south of Nablus.
A group of extremist Israeli settlers has surrounded Palestinian homes, blocked access, and cut water and electricity lines while attempting to establish unauthorized outposts nearby. Israeli security forces have demolished structures belonging to two illegal outposts, although several extremists remained near the homes afterward and residents were still afraid to leave.
The IDF initially ordered residents of 15 Palestinian homes to evacuate as part of the security operation but later rescinded that order. Additional troops have now been deployed, and Israeli authorities say they are working to restore order and hold those responsible accountable. Soldiers filmed praying alongside the extremists rather than removing them are reportedly facing disciplinary action.
We need to be careful with our language. A settler is not, by definition, a terrorist. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in communities throughout Judea and Samaria, and it is wrong to condemn them all because of the actions of violent extremists.
Leaders within the settlement movement itself have condemned what happened. Yisrael Ganz, Governor of the Binyamin Regional Council and Chairman of the Yesha Council — a strongly pro-settlement and pro-sovereignty/annexation voice — said:
There is no place to decide, individually, to establish a hilltop outpost in the courtyard of a home, and there is certainly no justification for violence toward bystanders or security forces…What’s happening in Qusra is improper and is unacceptable to us.
Beit El Council head Shai Alon, another prominent pro-settlement and pro-sovereignty voice, said the situation in Qusra was causing “irreversible damage” to Israel and the settlement movement.
Their voices matter. These are leaders deeply committed to building Jewish life in Judea and Samaria who understand that condemning extremism does not weaken the settlement movement — it protects it. I stand with them.
And more must be done.
No community is immune from people who betray its values. When Jews intimidate Palestinian civilians, attack their homes, cut their water or electricity, or try to impose their will through violence and fear, we need to be able to say clearly: this is wrong.
Calling out this behavior is not a rejection of Israel or Zionism. For those of us who love Israel and believe deeply in Zionism, it is precisely because we care about Israel that we cannot simply look away.
Elul is a season of cheshbon hanefesh — an accounting of the soul. Such an accounting cannot only be about identifying the failures of others. It also requires us to confront what is wrong within our own people.
Zionism, for me, is not the belief that Israel can do no wrong. It is the belief that the Jewish people have a responsibility to build a society worthy of our deepest values.
The behavior of these extremists does not strengthen Israel. It weakens the Jewish State. It violates the values we work to uphold, and it gives those who seek to demonize the Jewish State more ammunition.
Loving Israel often means defending her.
And sometimes loving Israel means saying, with equal conviction: this is wrong. This must stop. We must do better. And we can.
Hoping for a Shabbat Shalom for us all.