According to news reports, some 40 Jewish youths smashed windows in private homes in a Palestinian neighborhood in Hebron, and also slashed tires there. They are also accused of spray-painting a Jewish star on a Palestinian home. Other Jews are accused of spraying graffiti on Palestinian graves and on the walls of a mosque in Hebron.
If true we clarify our skepticism shortly this behavior is condemnable. It is against the law, against the Torah, and certainly against any pragmatic program to increase the Jewish presence in Hebron. However, the police made no arrests. Were the police lax, somehow ignoring the gross and politically provocative violations of the law in Hebron? Or were the news reports wrong, biased or exaggerated? We do not know.
We do know this: Violence is appalling, especially by those claiming to uphold the Torahs assignment of Hebron to the Jewish people for eternity. Also appalling, in a different way, is the indifference of many in Israel to the ancient and incontrovertible Jewish right to Hebron.
