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Last update - 15:12 08/10/2008 The left marked them By Nadav Shragai Tags: Israel news Hatred is difficult to measure, and even more difficult to measure on the eve of Yom Kippur. But even without a ruler or compass, it's hard not to get the impression that the extended process of delegitimizing the settlers - which leads to genuine hatred of them - is hitting a peak. The left wing and the media have now labeled the settlers, as a group, as the abhorred Other that people are allowed to smack around. It is particularly convenient to do this when one of the prime components of this campaign is the law. The law is a crucial instrument of a functional society, and every person, regardless of race, religion or political opinion, is obligated to respect it. There are settlers who break the law, just as there are lawbreakers who are Palestinian, ultra-Orthodox, politicians, Druze, Israeli Arabs, left-wing anarchists, the non-observant and factory workers fighting over their wages. The problem arises when the law becomes a way of marking an entire population as illegitimate, even as violations of the law by others are accepted with understanding and sensitivity. Much has been written about an Israeli prime minister who was suspected of criminal activity but shielded from criticism so he could advance the "correct policy." And none other than President Shimon Peres recently extolled the virtues of Abie Nathan, founder of the offshore pirate radio station The Voice of Peace, who violated the law and said what a good thing it was to do so. Barely anyone reminded the president of the ideologues running a pirate radio station on the "other" side, who violated the law so their voices could be heard from aboard the Arutz Sheva ship. Unlike Nathan, they did not merit immunity from the law and were punished for breaking it. Advertisement One must beware of those who talk about the greatness of the rule of law even as their hearts are full of hatred when it comes to the Other. Someone who beats up Palestinians and damages their property should sit in jail. But are the settlers as a whole - all 300,000 of them - responsible for that? Are the Druze, as a group, responsible for the few who attacked their Jewish neighbors in Peki'in? Are all Israeli Arabs responsible for the events of October 2000? What does Talia Sasson, the champion of the rule of law when it comes to illegal outpost construction, have to say about the tens of thousands of illegal buildings constructed by Bedouin and Arabs in the Galilee, Negev and East Jerusalem? And when was the last time the left wing or the media criticized the anarchists who attack Israel Defense Forces soldiers near the West Bank separation fence the same way they criticize the settlers? Why is the press interested in how much money Israeli taxpayers have to pay for security at right-wing rallies, while the cost of left-wing rallies is irrelevant? Why is there extensive media coverage when police refrain from raiding an outpost due to fear of clashes with settlers, but not when police refrain from chasing Arabs who steal cars, cattle and agricultural equipment along the seam line between Jewish and Arab neighborhoods and in Judea and Samaria? Take, for instance, the many articles about the body of the Palestinian shepherd whom the Palestinians accused the settlers of murdering - and the silence that greeted the news from the police laboratory that there had been no murder at all, that a dud shell caused the shepherd's death. Are the facts relevant only when they hew to the line? In a few weeks the country will commemorate the 13th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination. In the eyes of his supporters, those who object to the legacy attributed to Rabin are just as terrible and out of bounds as the assassination itself. In this matter too, the accusatory finger the left points at the right is generalized and inflammatory, to the point where half the country finds itself alienated from the memorial day. From the perspective of the left and the media, settlers have become the ultimate Other, mainly because of the ideological threat that they, religious Zionists and anyone who identifies with them poses to those who pride themselves on an absence of ideology. The Kadima party, with its blurred identity and limited values, is just one example of this. The settlers - in the path they have chosen, in their faith and even in their appearance - represent the exact opposite. That is their sin, and that is their reward. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Produce problems Jordan Islamists protest imports of fruit grown on 'land taken by Zionists.' Payback time? America's opponents in the Mideast: Financial crisis is divine punishment.   1.   The word "settler" didn`t have a bad smack before Israel 15:56  |  Swiss (Dino) 08/10/08   2.   When it comes to propaganda and deligitimizing whole groups 16:01  |  Zev 08/10/08   3.   THEY THINK THEY ARE WINNING THIS FIGHT 16:50  |  indrajaya 08/10/08   4.   Israel has become the punching bag of the settlers 17:00  |  Barry 08/10/08   5.   And the Palestinians are the Settlers Punchbag 17:45  |  Labhras 08/10/08   6.   The settlers delegitamize 18:09  |  T A Sheppard 08/10/08   7.   "Two state solution" means rockets on Tel Aviv. 18:46  |  Chaim 08/10/08   8.   Settlers a-law-unto-themselves... 18:58  |  Esther 08/10/08   9.   Settlers demonized by those lacking moral fibre 19:05  |  peter 08/10/08   10.   #7 Chaim, you credit the left with good intentions 19:28  |  Marcella 08/10/08   11.   Addendum for `a-law-unto-themselves`... 19:29  |  Esther 08/10/08   12.   Excellent column. How appropriate to have it this time of year 19:33  |  Marcella 08/10/08   13.   #5 lahbras and the stolen lands of ulster 19:36  |  de valera 08/10/08   14.   swiss dino puts the cuckoo clock back 19:40  |  william tell 08/10/08   15.   WE HAVE PEACE WITH EGYPT 20:52  |  SECULAR ISRAELI 08/10/08   16.   # 14 william tell 22:08  |  Swiss (Dino) 08/10/08   17.   Do Israeli schools teach geography? 22:40  |  Natallie Durson 08/10/08   18.   16Swiss Daniel thinks Suisse is Europe? 22:50  |  willian teil 08/10/08   19.   Settlements are illegal 23:05  |  Otto Rand 08/10/08   20.   To Marcella 23:15  |  Otto Rand 08/10/08   21.   interesting 23:24  |  dave duncan 08/10/08   22.   #19 Otto has his own ideas on what is legal 23:26  |  willian teil 08/10/08   23.   To 18 willian teil 23:30  |  Hassan 08/10/08   24.   A most disingenuous article 23:41  |  Sylvie 08/10/08   25.   #17 do US schools teach Geography and English 00:03  |  de valera 09/10/08   26.   Whats wrong on marking a criminal idiology? 00:08  |  Lutz 09/10/08   27.   The Problem Are The Supporters of Terrorism Not Neighborhoods 00:09  |  Baruch Gold 09/10/08   28.   #15 Secular Israeli. We`d be far better off w/Sinai than treaty. 00:17  |  Chaim 09/10/08   29.   To William Tell: International Law 01:35  |  Otto Rand 09/10/08   30.   Barry 01:46  |  Omar 09/10/08   31.   Those poor settlers! 02:10  |  Mark Lincoln 09/10/08   32.   #29 otto Rand - International Law, WHAT`S THAT? 03:42  |  Fritz 09/10/08   33.   Settlers must reject critics and remain steadfast 05:08  |  Moshe 09/10/08   34.   #29 otto needs to study law before posting inaccuracies 07:12  |  william tell 09/10/08   35.   #31 mark picks on the muslims and catholics 07:56  |  de valera 09/10/08   36.   for the benefit of the ill educated would 08:15  |  de valera 09/10/08   37.   William tell - What does OCCUPIED mean? (NOT the Israelli meaning 08:23  |  Fritz 09/10/08   38.   #37 Fritz the Jordan and Egypt 08:53  |  de valera 09/10/08   39.   #37would Fritz kindly list all the villages 09:09  |  Pheonix 09/10/08   40.   Amazing lack of common sense and more, much more... 09:58  |  S 09/10/08   41.   De Valera - How would the Irish define the word OCCUPIED? 11:32  |  fritz 09/10/08   42.   Pheonix - You got me! 11:39  |  Fritz 09/10/08   43.   #41 fritz occupied was ireland before 1924 11:54  |  de valera 09/10/08   44.   This is nonsense 13:21  |  Tom S 09/10/08   45.   Natallie, where is Guantanamo situated? 13:37  |  Israeli citizen 09/10/08   46.   #15 We have a cold war with Egypt 14:04  |  Adam 09/10/08   47.   #46 Adam. We gave away the Sinai for a cold war. 15:17  |  Chaim 09/10/08   48.   #37 15:32  |  Mickey 09/10/08   49.   #44 tom s dwells in the land of dreams 16:02  |  de valera 09/10/08   50.   Excuse me, Mickey? 16:24  |  Sylvie 09/10/08   51.   #50 excuse me sylvie are you mentioning the whole World or just 16:47  |  Pheonix 09/10/08   52.   For Micky #48.... the logical conclusion... 17:02  |  Esther 09/10/08   53.   Poor settlers? 17:27  |  Hans 09/10/08   54.   It isn`t the media..... 18:29  |  Dutch 09/10/08   55.   Israeli settlers are 90% to blame 19:20  |  Karl Eysenbach 09/10/08   56.   Chaim, Didn`t Rockets Come from Gaza Before That? 19:43  |  Reader 09/10/08   57.   Why single out bad acts by settlers? 19:43  |  Canderra 09/10/08   58.   THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL ARTICLE 19:46  |  Debbie 09/10/08   59.   The occupied west bank 19:50  |  yuval 09/10/08   60.   Fritz and Moshe Seem to Espouse the Irreconcilable 20:05  |  Reader 09/10/08   61.   Chaim, Save Us Some Time...Just Define the Borders You Want 20:52  |  Reader 09/10/08   62.   #38 For Develera --Paul Harris --Victor Hardman 21:26  |  Labhras 09/10/08   63.   #56 Reader. Sderot was peaceful till our insane Gaza retreat. 22:01  |  Chaim 09/10/08   64.   Dear Mr.Shragai You Are a Real Good Jew.If You Don`t Mind me.. 00:17  |  anonymous 10/10/08   65.   Shragai, it`s actually you who "marked the left"... 00:53  |  Esther 10/10/08   66.   Fritz`s faked quote 02:30  |  Ariadne 10/10/08   67.   Nathalie, Israeli students also know about . . . 02:44  |  Zev Davis 10/10/08   68.   ah, the puncher is also a punchee 04:29  |  newageblues 10/10/08   69.   Settlers who will leave if Israel says to are not the problem 04:44  |  newageblues 10/10/08   70.   #61 Reader. Very funny!. Actually the solution is simple. 05:30  |  Chaim