Vigilantes condemned

Editorial

A mosque in the Bedouin village of Tuba-Zangariyye, in Israel’s Galil, was burned Monday in an apparent case of arson. Hebrew graffiti was left behind.

This appears to be the fourth such incident of extremists seeking to disrupt coexistence between Jews and Muslims. Previous incidents have taken place in the West Bank and have been dubbed “price tag” attacks, suggesting that these arsons, which Israel’s defence minister, Ehud Barak, blames on “terrorists,” are in response to opposition to Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and their expansion.

There may be no act of damage to property more repugnant to civilized society than to attack a place of worship. These incidents have rightly been met with outrage from Israeli leaders and should be condemned by all.

While taking nothing away from the rightful disgust at these arsons, we do note the difference in response to these rare incidents, when compared with the far more frequent attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions, such as the mass murder of the Fogel family, for instance. When radical Jews engage in barbarism like mosque-burning, there are no voices around the world reminding us of the desperation, humiliation or other indignities that must have led them to such atrocities. Nor, of course, should there be.

These are acts of irredeemable intolerance. So are the atrocities perpetrated by anti-Israel terrorists. No ifs, ands, buts or obfuscations about provocation.

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