When murder and violence flash in the West Bank, Israelis should remember that on the other days they don't hear about terror, lots of violence is taking place. Those who choose to live in an illusion of calm and stability should consider themselves both privileged and lucky. And neither of those things can last forever.  Days like today, ones that start out with a Palestinian stabbing an Israeli to death and end with Israeli settlers rampaging around, starting fires and hurling stones at innocent Palestinian bystanders - many of them children: days like today are a cruel expression of the…

Settlers threw a stone, and then another one, at a Palestinian's head. Then they killed his sheep. The chances they will be indicted for attempted murder are slim. By Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz At the beginning of March, K., a Palestinian resident of the village of Al Mughayer, took his herd to pasture. As readers of this blog may have noticed, many of the incidents reported here take place in pasture lands; it's a part of the attempt by the settlers to prevent Palestinians from working their land or grazing it. As soon as the Palestinians abandon the…

The real challenge facing the Muslim world today is how to stop violent protesters from becoming the face of the religion. In order to do that, we need more Muslims to get rid of their indifference and speak against the misrepresentation of Islam.  Research shows that the people behind "Innocence of Muslims," the film which disrespects Islam and the Prophet Muhammad and set off riots across the Middle East after it was uploaded to YouTube, are nothing more than a few Islalmophobic individuals. They produced a very a low cost, low quality film which aims to mock the Prophet Muhammad, and…

In 1998, an Israeli film appeared called "Buzz." It was based on a true story that had rocked the country four years earlier: two teenagers murdered a taxi driver, shooting him six times in the back. In the style of some great literature, there was no motive at all, just sheer thrill for boys who had already developed a pastime of petty crime. Nobody is making films these days about stunningly random, lethal violence. We've grown ritually used to it. We have a few days to nurse our horror, then we return to the struggle to close out the month…

Eyewitness report that a Palestinian who tried to put out a fire started by settlers in Urif was shot and injured.  Throughout the day, there were reports of settlers from Yitzhar trying to set fire to Palestinian olive groves near the village of Urif, south of Nablus in the West Bank. The entire area is know for its frequent confrontations between settlers and local farmers. A team from B'Tselem who arrived at the spot caught one of the attacks on camera; Sarit Michaeli, spokesperson for B'Tselem who filmed the video, told me she had a very clear view of the…

South Tel Aviv's African community was hit by five Molotov cocktails last night, as Israelis wrapped up their Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) celebrations. Four of the Molotov cocktails were thrown into apartments that are home to Africans; one was lobbed into a kindergarten. No injuries were reported. Police are investigating the incidents that activists call a "coordinated" attack. The African community in Israel has been the target of numerous acts of violence in the past. In January of 2011, for example, a burning tire was thrown into the apartment five Sudanese refugees shared in Ashdod. The men suffered from smoke inhalation…

End the occupation and the militarism, which are conspicuous in the democratic world today but not in its history, and this could be a pretty cool place. I try not to go out of my way to write good things about Israel, but I also try not to go out of my way not to write good things about Israel, because, among other reasons, it's important to remember that for all the justified criticism and condemnation, there's something worth saving here. In that spirit, I want to take issue with a growing view that Israel is a violent society and becoming…

When I speak in Europe or America, there is one question I always know is coming: Why don't Muslim religious leaders condemn violence? I try to explain that even though the western media doesn't report on them, they do exist. There are many Muslim leaders who speak regularly against violence and present Islam as a religion that supports peace and coexistence. Last week, I co-organized a weekend in Istanbul with 120 of these Muslim leaders, with a focus on the future of Afghanistan. They tackled hot issues like violence, peace, the misinterpretation of Islamic texts and the role of Muslim…

Translation from Hebrew: Dimi Reider Motty Fogel, an Israeli journalist who lost his brother, sister-in-law,  nephews and niece in the terror attack on the settlement of Itamar, spoke yesterday at the joint Palestinian and Israeli memorial ceremony organized by Combatants for Peace. He shared his speech with +972. When they offered me to speak at this ceremony, I  almost immediately said yes. But when I began thinking about what I'll want to say, I couldn't come up with anything but battered ideological cliches. I tried to think what was it that made it so difficult, and at some point I…

Israeli politicians commenting on violence from Gaza in recent days treat an escalation into a new round of clashes as a given. Rather than inevitable, this is the product of a policy of ignoring rather than engaging Hamas. By Yonatan Mendel The last democratic elections held in the Arab world, in January 2006, saw Hamas gaining victory and its leader, Isma'il Haniyeh, appointed Prime Minister. Five years later, the "West" is busy supporting democratic changes in the Middle East, but conversely backs Israeli negotiations with a Palestinian government headed by Salam Fayyad, who came sixth in the 2006 election with…