When I was visiting my mother in Jerusalem, I overheard a religious couple behind me talking about the latest acts of violence by Jewish settlers. One sentence caught my attention: “These are no longer just a few crazy young people. The problem is much bigger than we think.” What struck me was not only what the two of them were saying, but who was saying it: religious Jews who were clearly deeply concerned about developments within their own society. The day before, Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine had been injured in violent clashes near Abu Falah. International media reported a brutal attack by Jewish settlers. Israeli officials, however, described it as a deliberate Palestinian provocation. What actually happened is still being investigated.
But the incident raises a question that is now being discussed even within religious circles: Is this truly just a small, violence-prone fringe group, or is a problem growing here that Israel has long underestimated? Of all people, Israel Security Agency chief David Zini, himself a religious Jew, is now calling for a tougher...
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