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Members of the neo-Nazi cell arrested one month ago. (Reproduction: Tomer Appelbaum)
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Interior Minister: I'll consider revoking neo-Nazis' citizenship
By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: neo-Nazis, Petah Tikva 

The Interior Ministry said Sunday that it would consider revoking the citizenship of eight teens suspected of running a neo-Nazi cell in Petah Tikva, if they are convicted.

The suspects, aged 17 to 19, confessed to assaulting dozens of people, mainly foreign workers around Tel Aviv's central bus station and Carmel market, causing many of them serious injury. The eight were arrested a month ago, and a gag order on the arrest was lifted Saturday.

According to police, the neo-Nazi cell comprised individuals who have distant ties to Judaism and nonetheless immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union under the Law of Return, which grants all Jews the right to immigrate.
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Army Radio reported Sunday that Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit instructed the ministry to look into the legal aspects of such a procedure. The law allows the state to strip the citizenship of anyone involved in an act against the state.

The Ramle Magistrate's Court extended the remand of seven of the eight suspects on Sunday. The State Prosecution is expected to submit indictments against the seven to the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that the neo-Nazi cell is an isolated incident, to be dealt with by the police and the justice system, and not a widespread phenomenon that requires a blanket solution.

"Let's not incriminate an entire population and fall into the trap of generalizations. There is no need at this time to look for solutions that would affect entire populations," the statement said.

Olmert explained that the suspicions against these teens "indicate that we, as a society, have failed in educating these youths and keeping them away from dangerous and crazy ideologies." He called for harsh punishment in order to deter teens from participating in neo-Nazi activity.

Absorption Minister Ya'akov Edri stressed that this is a marginal phenomenon that doesn't in any way characterize the immigrant youth in Israel. "Most of the immigrant youth is normative and fully incorporated into all aspects of life in this country. Today there are thousands of [immigrant] youths who serve in the army and contribute to the strength of Israel," Edri said. "We mustn't stigmatize an entire group."




Earlier Sunday, MKs from across the political spectrum condemned the incident, and some suggested that the Law of return be amended in order to prevent similar individuals from immigrating.

MK Effi Eitam (National Religious Party - Ehud Leumi) stated he will propose a bill that would alter the Law of Return. The Law of Return ensures that any person who has at least one Jewish grandparent can immigrate to Israel and attain citizenship.

Eitam stated that Israel has become "a haven for people who hate Israel, hate Jews, and exploit the Law of Return to act on this hatred."

MK Ahmed Tibi of Ra'am Ta'al called on authorities to deal harshly with the cell, saying that it represents a "ludicrous and outrageous phenomenon, where people immigrated to Israel and received automatic citizenship under the Law of Return, while citizens of Nazareth and Taibe are not allowed to visit their own relatives merely due to the fact that they are Arabs."

NRP Chairman Zevulun Orlev recommended the Knesset pass a law that would allow the deportation and revocation of citizenship for people found to be neo-Nazis. Orlev stated that the group's violent attacks "are shocking, and must be dealt with harshly," adding that Israel must set an example to the world in how to deal with anti-Semitism.

Police have seized 5 kilograms of explosives, a pistol, and an M-16 assault rifle belonging to the group of neo-Nazi youths. Police believe the group intended to use the weapons against punk rockers in the city, with whom they often clash violently.

Six of the eight suspects have confessed to the charges against them, while two reported ringleaders of the group have professed their innocence. One of the reported leaders Eli Boanitov was quoted by police as saying, "I won't ever give up, I was a Nazi and I will stay a Nazi, until we kill them all I will not rest."

Police confirmed that the majority of the suspects were enrolled in Israeli public schools, and at least one was drafted into the army. Police suspect that the youth who was drafted fled the country after giving his army-issue M-16 to a member of the cell.

Police uncovered the cell a year ago, while investigating vandalism at the main synagogue in Petah Tikva, where neo-Nazis sprayed swastikas and Adolf Hitler's name on walls and prayer books. Computers seized from two suspects arrested in that case led police to dozens of video files documenting brutal assaults on foreign workers.

Superintendent Revital Almog, who was in charge of the investigation, said that the police learned that a "neo-Nazi cell was being operated in Israel by people living in Israel but believing in Nazi ideology and in Hitler."

"We discovered that besides their meetings, at which they praised Nazi ideology, they used to go out to Tel Aviv in a group to perpetrate racist attacks," Almog continued.

Almog said that the teens would deliberately select victims who they deemed too weak to complain. Most of them were foreign workers who the teenagers would attack, telling them that because they were not white, they would be harmed.

One video shows some of the teens surrounding a young Russian heroin addict, who admits he is Jewish. Later they order him to get down on his knees and beg forgiveness from the Russian people for being Jewish and a junky. They beat him mercilessly, along with another man who comes to his aid.

The group was also reportedly planning to celebrate Hitler's birthday at Yad Vashem.

More than 20 people who were in touch with the suspects, mostly via the Internet, were questioned throughout the investigation. Their parents were also questioned, and said they knew nothing of their children's activities.

Among those questioned was Rostislav Bogoslavski, who was arrested several months ago on suspicion of killing two people and hundreds of cats in Petah Tikva. Police believe Bogoslavski cooperated with two of the cell members in some acts of vandalism in the city.

The Anti-Defamation League responded to the arrests by urging that the group not be used as a stereotype for Russian immigrants in Israel, and saying that such cases were marginal.

In a statement, the group said neo-Nazi behavior was a problem arising from the difficulties faced by immigrants, adding "The youth are angry at Israelis for holding them in contempt and lash out with hatred."

The ADL clarified that while the detainees were from the former Soviet Union and religiously identified as Christians, they had immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return which grants "even grandchildren of Jews sanctuary in the Jewish state."

"The tragic irony in this is that they would have been chosen for annihilation by the Nazi they strive to emulate," the statement said.

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  1.   this type of immigration must stop 00:42  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/09/07
  2.   great job jewish agency 00:52  |  Kobi former Swede 09/09/07
  3.   hang them 00:54  |  alan 09/09/07
  4.   Another Meyer Lansky is needed to deal with this 01:02  |  Jake 09/09/07
  5.   Ship Them Out Of Israel - Immediately! 01:11  |  Bill Foonman 09/09/07
  6.   What a madhouse! Jewish neo-nazi`s! 01:22  |  Dutch Dirk 09/09/07
  7.   Send them back to Russia. Shameful 01:23  |  Jo 09/09/07
  8.   eight neo-Nazi teenagers from Petah Tikva 01:24  |  9mm hebrew for never 09/09/07
  9.   ISRAELI LAW 01:38  |  Martin 09/09/07
  10.   neo-nazi. 01:53  |  jeffrey turkel 09/09/07
  11.   Who are these guys? We need to know more. 01:58  |  John 09/09/07
  12.   And they have more rights in Israel than law-abiding Arabs... 02:14  |  Pssd Off American 09/09/07
  13.   the dirty DOZEN 02:16  |  Edmundo 09/09/07
  14.   Check every immigrant`s knowledge of Judaism before entry permits 02:19  |  Dan 09/09/07
  15.   May G-d have mercy on the State of Isael 02:19  |  Yered Shmuel 09/09/07
  16.   finally something israel cannot blame on Europe 02:23  |  Leona 09/09/07
  17.   A serious problem... 02:39  |  Maureen Ann 09/09/07
  18.   How About Trying A Positive Approach..Just For a Change of Pace 03:07  |  Brian Freund 09/09/07
  19.   #17, Maureen Ann 03:23  |  judith 09/09/07
  20.   Dutch, are you for real? 03:25  |  Allon 09/09/07
  21.   Thanks to the Law of Return 03:44  |  dan 09/09/07
  22.   Nazis Out 03:46  |  Rustam Gorshkov 09/09/07
  23.   neo-Nazi teenagers 03:55  |  RichardL 09/09/07
  24.   Russians in Israel 04:29  |  yaakov 09/09/07
  25.   Israeli police 04:37  |  Ben 09/09/07
  26.   INTERESTING 04:39  |  JOJO 09/09/07
  27.   Here`s how you got neo-nazis in Israel 04:45  |  a Professor 09/09/07
  28.   Democracy 05:00  |  Sergia 09/09/07
  29.   Alya 05:06  |  Sergia 09/09/07
  30.   Russian Goyim 05:09  |  Rabbi Yakov Lazaros 09/09/07
  31.   The Law of Return 05:17  |  Robert 09/09/07
  32.   punishment 05:28  |  Eu 09/09/07
  33.   Israel has a moral obligation to expell them 05:39  |  MR 09/09/07
  34.   Finally, actual self-hating Jews 06:23  |  peacelover 09/09/07
  35.   #Rabbi Yakov Lazaros. Your judgement of Goyim. 06:37  |  Maureen Ann 09/09/07
  36.   professor #27 07:04  |  judith 09/09/07
  37.   Maureen Ann # - Not All Non Jews. But Enough of Them 07:22  |  Eli 09/09/07
  38.   Nazis in - converts out 07:36  |  cor 09/09/07
  39.   Law of return 07:38  |  Gene 09/09/07
  40.   Blaming Russians&Jewish Agency 07:41  |  Boris of Raanana 09/09/07
  41.   Neonazis 07:43  |  chanan 09/09/07
  42.   Deport them - NOW 08:04  |  Liz 09/09/07
  43.   Israeli Neo-Nazis 08:17  |  Gil62 09/09/07
  44.   # 29 I agree with you all the way. The Rebbe was right! 08:26  |  Avraham 09/09/07
  45.   nazi pigs 08:40  |  Grant 09/09/07
  46.   Dutch Dirk - They are not Jewish, they are Russians.. 08:41  |  x 09/09/07
  47.   #33 to the smirker 08:46  |  Ben 09/09/07
  48.   neo-nazis in Israel: unbelievable!! 08:52  |  Aaron 09/09/07
  49.   hypocrisy 09:18  |  KMS 09/09/07
  50.   What an excuse Ha`aretz promotes 09:22  |  Trish 09/09/07
  51.   Keep them out of the IDF ! 09:34  |  Aaron 09/09/07
  52.   Very Sad Israeli Neo-Nazi Video on Youtube 09:34  |  Rustam Gorshkov 09/09/07
  53.   Congratulations Ariel Sharon 09:54  |  D Hirod 09/09/07
  54.   Hey these guys are perfect ... 09:58  |  Jew 09/09/07
  55.   Their settler likes in the West Bank are government sponsored 10:01  |  www.kibush.co.il 09/09/07
  56.   #39 10:01  |  Trevor Brooks 09/09/07
  57.   NEO NAZI 10:51  |  frankie paper 09/09/07
  58.   DUTCH DIRK who said they only attacked Arabs?? 11:04  |  PETER S.M. 09/09/07
  59.   Why wait a year?! 11:14  |  Esther 09/09/07
  60.   they receive their education here, in Israel 11:22  |  Ana 09/09/07
  61.   the coming Israeli civil war 11:41  |  Imad 09/09/07
  62.   Make a LAW that criminalizes Nazism as RACISM! 11:54  |  Alice of Wonderland 09/09/07
  63.   Maureen Ann #32. 12:06  |  David Nigel Braham 09/09/07
  64.   "Rabbi" Y Lazaros.You do not speak either for me or my friends. 12:16  |  PETER S.M. 09/09/07
  65.   Rabbi Kahane was right (as usual) 12:19  |  Choni Davidowitz 09/09/07
  66.   Russians in Israel 12:23  |  Alan 09/09/07
  67.   ammending law 12:40  |  eli 09/09/07
  68.   Outlaw Shas as well 12:46  |  SK 09/09/07
  69.   #31 MR: surprise: Israel is many unbelievable stories! 12:48  |  Alice of Wonderland 09/09/07
  70.   Maureen Ann 12:52  |  Vered Marom 09/09/07
  71.   Moral universe in action 12:53  |  Joe 09/09/07
  72.   curious...curiouser,the paradoxal story 13:01  |  scanadu 09/09/07
  73.   Foonman, Jews are people 13:14  |  Wolf 09/09/07
  74.   #18 how about trying the old british approach brian 13:19  |  victor hardman 09/09/07
  75.   Gil62 blindsided 13:26  |  observer 09/09/07
  76.   KMS the hypocrite 13:29  |  Psychologist 09/09/07
  77.   Imad 13:31  |  I`m not mad 09/09/07
  78.