After series of violent incidents by 'Hilltop Youth' settlers, local Jewish group launches petition to disavow nationalist violence

Following several weeks that have seen a consistent level of nationalistic violence carried out primarily by members of the Hilltop Youth movement, several hundred people from the Gush Etzion settlement bloc have signed a petition condemning the violence. 

Called “A Time to Act,” the petition states that those who have signed could not “remain silent in the face of the terrible wave of violence.” 

The petition cites a section of scripture from the Torah, Leviticus 18:28, “that the Land may not spew you out,” referring to the people of Israel behaving like the Canaanites and dishonoring God. 

As an example of the violence, the petition identified “horrific acts such as houses set on fire, vehicles burned, property and flocks destroyed, shooting, physical assaults carried out against Arabs residing in the Gush Etzion bloc, with the intent of harming children, women, and men.” 

“These acts stand in violation of the law, morality, and Halacha (religious law),” the petition states. 

Countering claims of some in the settlement movement the petition says, "unfortunately this is not a case of libel claims, but if cruel acts that are happening with increasing frequency, backed up by evidence that is hard to look at.” 

The petitioners included a link to the Hilltop Youth Telegram account, in which many of the incidents are documented, either by the Arabs who suffered the violence, or sometimes by members of the Hilltop Youth themselves. 

The document also acknowledged the occurrence of violence by Palestinian Arabs against Jews living in Judea and Samaria, however, the petitioner stated that by taking the law into their own hands, the Hilltop Youth will not stop the violence. 

Further, the petitioners pointed out that many of the acts of violence committed by the Hilltop Youth are occurring after the entrance of the Shabbat on Friday evenings. 

“Many acts of violence, including against our soldiers, take place on Friday nights desecrating the Shabbat,” the statement read. 

“Those who commit these acts, often in kippot (yarmulke) and tzitzit (tassels), are harming the moral and spiritual foundation of our settlement,” the statement continued. “they endanger our life in the land, physically and spiritually.” 

Additionally, the petitioners pointed out that even if the numbers of youth involved in the attacks are small, the failure to deal with them appropriately is damaging to the future of the settlement movement. 

“After the massacre on October 7, and after two bloody years of war against cruel Hamas terrorists, we must remember that part of our war against evil is to set as our guiding light that our war is for the triumph of Jewish morality, so that we may be a light into the nations, a kingdom of priests, and holy nation,” the statement concluded. 

Rabbi Shaul Judelman, 46, a resident of the Gush Etzion region, told The Times of Israel that the petition was started by a group of about 40 residents, who have been opposing the increasing violence for about a year. 

“Since the war began, we have been hearing of attacks by extremist youth, mostly against Palestinians in the area, that went beyond any pale of justification,” Judelman told the Times. “It wasn’t people defending themselves. It was people going out and burning houses or killing sheep. And [we had] a sense that this sometimes is happening around our communities and we have a responsibility to address it.” 

He explained that “there are many Jews and Palestinians [in Gush Etzion] who have known each other for a long time, and there are connections,” Judelman said, explaining the petitioners choice to focus only on their area. 

He also related how one of the attacks damaged the garage of a Palestinian who volunteers with an Israeli organization, that helps people who get stuck on local roads due to car issues. 

“One of the [damaged] cars belonged to an Israeli who had just finished serving in Gaza,” he explained. 

The petitioners called on leading rabbis from the Gush Etzion region, along with public figures and other residents of the settlement bloc, to stand together in condemning the acts of violence.

It concluded with a quotation from the prophet Isaiah, “I, the Lord have called you in righteousness, and I will hold your hand; I will protect you and I will make you a covenant for the people in a light into the nations” (Isaiah 42:6).