Sternhell: A great day for Israeli democracy

All of Israeli society would have paid the price had Yaakov (Jack) Teitel not been caught, Prof. Zeev Sternhell, the alleged target of a murder attempt by the West Bank resident, said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters at his home, Sternhell recommended that "law enforcement deal with this terrorist as it deals with any terrorist, Jewish or Arab."

He called yesterday "a great day for Israeli democracy. The attempt to harm a man and his family because of his opinions was a most dangerous phase in the decline in civil rights and the right to influence Israeli society."

Sternhell, an Israel Prize laureate, was lightly injured when a small pipe bomb exploded outside his home in September 2008. Police immediately linked the attack to opinions Sternhell had expressed against settlers, particularly a Haaretz op-ed from 2001 his detractors said supported the Palestinians' use of violence.

In 2001, referring to a cabinet decision authorizing spending for continued construction in the settlements, Sternhell wrote that "the Palestinians have the right to view this government initiative as a deciding factor in favor of continuing the conflict."