Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., June 18, 2008 Sivan 15, 5768 | | Israel Time: 03:17 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

The new sheriffs By Avirama Golan Tags: negev Yesterday morning, when President Shimon Peres' motorcade arrived at Kibbutz Nir Am, four pick-up tricks were waiting there, covered with a red banner. "If I am not for myself, who will be for me," the farmers of the western Negev had written across the banner, quoting from the Ethics of the Fathers. The demonstrators explained that they were fed up with seeing construction materials being transferred from Israel to the Gaza Strip and then used, according to them, in terrorist attacks. They also said that they are fed up with the firing from the Strip. Since the country has deserted the South in general and the farmers living near the border with Gaza in particular, they said, the members of the kibbutzim and moshavim as well as private farmers have set up a protest movement. They refused to divulge their future intentions but promised that there was "a bank full of plans that you will hear about." A pair of cloth testicles proudly hung from the trailer attached to one of the trucks ("to show that we have balls"). Yet, it was obvious that violence was not an option for most members of the new movement. All they want, they say, is "for it to be quiet." Their claim that the state has deserted them is not entirely unfounded. The protective reinforcement they are supposed to receive is not forthcoming, the diplomatic solutions are very slow, and the local authorities have been abandoned and in some cases are even collapsing. Dangerous weeds are beginning to grow on the land the state has deserted, by shedding all its obligations, and the people with the pick-up trucks as well as their friends are likely to be attracted by their evil charm. The Qassam rockets and the mortar shells are merely one of the factors that are helping to change these peoples' worldview. In their eyes, the Negev is Israel's wild South, the Galilee is the wild North, and the Green Line is the wild East (or the wild West, depending on where you are standing) - and they are the sheriffs of this new reality. These sheriffs make use of traditional Zionist values, such as working the land and leaving behind a life of luxury in favor of going to live on the frontier. They impress by adopting an imagery taken from Westerns - cowboys and shepherds with long, wild hair who ride their horses with a large dog at their side - and they speak emotionally about blood and spiritual ties to an ancient landscape and to the dynasty of the heroes of the ancient Land of Israel. Advertisement Most of them live on private farms and are engaged in a persistent struggle with the authorities, who by some obscure means allowed them to graze their herds on state lands and eventually to settle there, too. The state claims that it did not intend for them to settle there. They respond that the state sent them there in order to protect its lands from the Bedouin who wanted to gain control. The argument is expected to be settled in their favor. It was out of this type of consciousness, with people wanting to take the law into their own hands and believing in the superiority of a chosen group, that the Shai Dromi affair was born. The remarks made by Dromi and his brother Amir (a farmer from the Mateh Yehuda region, whom the authorities have accused of living in an area that is earmarked for pasturage only) are strikingly similar to those made by Haim Silberman from Zippori in the Galilee. A few months ago, Silberman told Makor Rishon, "[It is] just like during the Holocaust, when they said that everything would be all right. But we have decided not to keep quiet." He was referring to the feeling of helplessness that overcomes him when he sees the Bedouin shepherds, who are allowed by Moshav Zippori to let their sheep graze in their fields, while he is not allowed to do so. As a response, Silberman and his colleagues set up "The New Shomer" organization (a contemporary version of the pre-state Hashomer), one of whose honorary members is the private farmer Sela Har-Zion, the son of Meir Har-Zion, a famous fighter from the early days of statehood. In both the South and the North, they are talking about thefts from, and attacks on, the farmers - a genuine problem that cannot be ignored. But even so, they mainly give expression to the feeling that they are living in the midst of an ethnic struggle over lands without any defined borders. These new sheriffs, who have a large number of supporters (thousands sympathized with Dromi and even enthusiastically support the dangerous draft law that bears his name), claim that they are following in the footsteps of the pioneers who established the early settlements in the stealth of the night. In fact, they refuse to recognize that Israel is a sovereign country, that it has an army and a police force. Like the settlers, they distort the basic tenets of Zionism and claim that there is no difference between Margaliot (a moshav located near the border with Lebanon) and Shai's farm, and they try to convince people that from the moment of its establishment, the state has been nothing more than an ethno-centric conquest. Worst of all is their deliberate blurring of terror organizations and Israel's Arab citizens. A similar kind of blurring is evident in the Dromi law. Defining burglary as "an illegal attack from which concrete danger can be expected" in effect demonizes the Bedouin thief, turning him from a burglar into a potential murderer. The law pretends that we are talking about a faceless thief, but it is clear to whom it is referring. The decision that "a person will not hold criminal responsibility for his actions" (despite the new reservation about the reasonableness of the act) opens up the possibility of engaging in dangerous aggressiveness. The Dromi law and the new sheriffs' organizations are bad news for democracy. The law-enforcement and security authorities must stop these militias while they are still small. Otherwise, those from Israel's Wild West will come to dictate policy to the government. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Religious pressure Tel Aviv supermarket chain agrees gradual Shabbat closure. Overgenerous diplomacy UN envoy: Israel has given Syria a 'huge gift' for free.

Read & React UN envoy: Israel has given Syria a 'huge gift' for free Responses: 134 Nazi sheltered by Austria as too ill for trial, seen enjoying Euro 2008 Responses: 102 IAF kills 6 in Gaza strikes, including gunmen linked to Shalit kidnap Responses: 132 Defense Minister Barak: It is too early to declare calm in Gaza Responses: 77 Israeli sources: Hezbollah deal possible next week Responses: 64 More Headlines 02:58 Hamas, Egypt back Gaza truce, Israel yet to confirm deal 02:59 ANALYSIS / Cease-fire deal means Hamas is in charge 21:19 IAF Gaza strikes kill 6 including gunmen linked to Shalit kidnap 01:57 Syria lacks skills, fuel for nuclear facility, says ElBaradei 02:44 Civil Administration officials indicted in West Bank land steal 19:09 Right-wing activist pours boiling water on Meretz MKs in Hebron 23:01 Will next U.S. Congress top current record number of Jewish lawmakers? 02:56 Will Olmert and Assad be sitting together at the same table? 22:22 Poll: Ashkenazi Israelis more content with their wages than Sephardis 16:09 Report: U.S. urges Israeli pullout from disputed Golan area 23:27 Sex and the Old City / Star of hit TV show Kristin Davis makes first visit to Jerusalem 12:54 Bowing to religious pressure, Tel Aviv supermarket chain agrees gradual Shabbat closure 13:06 Israel Police arrest settlers for assault on Palestinian farmers 17:18 Tourism to Israel breaks all-time record in May Previous Editions Select Day 17 jun 16 jun 15 jun 13 jun 12 jun 11 jun 10 jun 09 jun 08 jun 06 jun 05 jun 04 jun

Special Offers Advertisement Holyland Park Jerusalem Apartment Tower World Class Luxury In the heart of Tel-Aviv The Meier on Rothschild tower Jerusalem of Gold Luxury apartments in Jerusalem's finest location Your vacation starts here Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates Istudy Learn Hebrew in 3 months Pardes Institute Summer Sessions http://www.pardes.org.il/ Free the Palestinians from: Corrupt Kleptocracy, Tyrannical Theocracy, Abysmal Anarchy Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved