Radical Israeli settlers: ultimate concerns, political goals and violence

Authors

• Jonathan Peste Gothenburg University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67313

Keywords:

Arab-Israeli conflict, Violence, Ethnic conflict, Political violence, Social movements, Radicalism, Politics and Judaism, Zionism, Land settlement

Abstract

The focus of this article is the radical and activist parts of the wider Israeli settler community on the West Bank. This Radical Israeli Settler Movement should not be confused with the general settler community in the West Bank, even if the more radical groups often recruit their members from the general settler community. The Radical Israeli Settler Movement today includes groups such as Kach, The Committee for Safety on the Roads and The Jewish Legion. The purpose of this article is to analyse some instances of violence in the radical Israeli settler movement and to identify recurring features and processes in this violence. It will be argued that these features and processes are important factors in understanding why certain movements use violence. It will also be argued that future comparative studies are needed, which include other contexts where similar radical movements have become violent, in order to develop a general theory of ethno-religious movements using political violence.