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Israel, as usual in security cases and almost any sensitive matter, has slapped a gag order on the arrest of three Jewish terror suspects in the case of the arson attack on the historic Church of Loaves and Fishes in the Galilee. The attack left a substantial portion of the edifice damaged along with degrading anti-Christian graffiti scrawled on the walls of the holy site.

A knowledgeable Israeli source identified the names of the culprits are Yinon Reuveni (age 19), Mordechai Gedalia Margalit (age 18), Yehuda Yedidia Asraf (age unknown, but possibly a minor). Reuveni has been slapped by the Shin Bet with an administrative restraining order barring him from entering the Territories (possibly why he chose to “branch out” to a target inside Israel proper). Margalit too received similar treatment from the authorities.

One suspect is from the Israeli town of Ofakim. At least one other is from a settlement though I haven’t yet identified which one. Two of them were arrested in Yad Benjamin. I hope any Israeli readers will spread this gagged news as widely as possibly on social media to begin the process of filleting censorship.

Israel has an entire Shin Bet unit devoted to fighting Jewish terror, yet it took them weeks to arrest the culprits. Now they will be interrogated. They might be tried and if justice is lucky (it usually isn’t in such cases) they might spend a week or month in jail. In the meantime, the Knesset is debating a law that would provide the death penalty in terror attacks. By “terror” they’re speaking of Arab terror, of course. Jewish terror is usually unprosecuted. One of the few Jewish terrorists who has received a life sentence is Yigal Amir. And many in high places lobby regularly for his release (a poll found that 30% of Israelis favored his pardon). Even those who murder Palestinians get released from prison, and in many instances pardoned by the President.

Let us not hear from Israeli apologists that these youth are aberrations, that all of Israel denounces their acts. Where do you think they learned to hate? Not just from their parents or a renegade rabbi. They learned from their prime minister, his cabinet and the extremist legislators who rule the land. They are doing what many mainstream Israelis would like to do but can’t.

Let’s also not make the mistake of saying anti-Christian hate is a marginal affair in Israel. Jack Teitel, another Jewish terrorist serving a lengthy jail term for killing Israeli police and attempting to kill Hebrew University Prof. Zeev Sternhell with a bomb, severely injured a Christian missionary by exploding a bomb at his home.

Hatred of Christianity is only part of the toxic stew on which these settlers feast. Even deeper is their hate of Muslims in general and Palestinians in particular. There isn’t even any comfort in saying that at least they don’t hate Jews, since they do. As I noted, Teitel injured Zeev Sternhell in a bomb blast. Before that, he posted flyers offering a reward for the killing of Israeli Jewish peace activists. In other words, these settlers hate anyone not like them. And it isn’t just theoretical or abstract hate. This is hate backed with deeds. They’re more than willing to kill for their “ideals.”

In short, this is a deviant form of Judaism that I call idolatry. The worship of the false god of Judaic purity. Precisely the sort of worship prophets like Isaiah railed against. The sort of aberrant behavior Yeshayah Leibowitz so presciently called “Judeo-Nazism.” It is the sort of hate that felled a prime minister (Yitzhak Rabin) and will destroy the country if it isn’t extirpated root and branch (an unlikely prospect given the enormous power wielded by the settler movement within Israeli politics).

While we’re on a roll here exposing Israeli gag orders, let’s blow the cover off another Israeli “secret agent.” Israeli attorney, Paul Landes, has been until recently the director of a money-laundering unit which traced terror financing. This was a public position. Calcalist reported, perhaps inadvertently (here’s the censored version of the story), that Landes is stepping down from this role. He is moving to a new “secret” job whose particulars may not be reported, according to the media outlet. Undoubtedly, he will be working for the Shin Bet or Mossad doing precisely the same thing: tracing terror financing by Arab militant groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and others. Why his job should be secret when similar positions in the U.S. Justice Department (possibly even the CIA) are not is an excellent question.

Undoubtedly, as soon as someone in the intelligence services reads this the Calcalist page will be taken down. So I’ve saved a screenshot.