Exposed: The Blood Libel Against Judea and Samaria’s Jewish Pioneers
In a recent screed published by The Jerusalem Post, Gershon Baskin recycled ancient antisemitic tropes under the guise of condemning “settler violence.” His attack on Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria and on the Israeli government is not serious analysis. It is a carefully constructed inversion of reality, designed to demonize and delegitimize more than half a million Jewish pioneers who are fulfilling the Divine commandment to reclaim our ancestral homeland.
Baskin peddles two blood libels: the “Jewish settler violence” libel and the “Jewish right-wing extremist politicians” libel. Both aim to facilitate the removal of Jews from the heart of the Land of Israel through diplomatic pressure, sanctions, boycotts, and even terrorism. This is nothing less than a modern-day attempt to make Judea and Samaria Judenrein.
The Facts That Baskin Ignores
Hard data collected by Regavim in its report “False Flags and Real Agendas” exposes the fraud behind the UN’s reporting of over 8,300 “settler violence” incidents from 2016 to early 2023. Roughly 90% of these reports are outright fabrications, malicious misrepresentations, or irrelevant complaints that have nothing to do with violence, nothing to do with “settlers,” or nothing to do with Judea or Samaria.
In stark contrast, Shin Bet data documents thousands of Palestinian terror attacks annually — stabbings, shootings, Molotov cocktails, vehicular rammings, and stonings — that have killed and wounded hundreds of Israelis. Baskin’s selective vision conveniently ignores this reality.
Who Is Funding the Demonization?
Baskin’s Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information received millions in funding from foreign governmental aid agencies, including Sweden’s Sida, the UK’s DFID, the Netherlands’ DGIS, Swiss Development Aid, and USAID. These same European concerns also fund Peace Now, B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence, and other self-hating nonprofits that work tirelessly to undermine the Jewish State.
Baskin also serves as co-director of the Holy Land Bond, a UK-registered fund dedicated to “Palestinian housing... in East Jerusalem” — the eternal and undivided capital of the Jewish people. This is not peacemaking. It is a quiet war against Jewish sovereignty.
Israeli Democracy Is Stronger Than Ever
Baskin’s claim that Israeli democracy is on the brink of collapse holds no water. The rate of indictments against Jews accused of violence is significantly higher than against all other types of offenses. Crime rates in Judea and Samaria are among the lowest in the Western world. The real threat to Israeli democracy comes from foreign governments and their NGO proxies who weaponize “international law” against Jews and fund the quiet Arab takeover of Israel’s heartland.
The Lesson of October 7
For the majority of Israelis, the lesson of October 7, 2023, is clear: excusing or ignoring Arab aggression is immoral and dangerous. Baskin’s op-ed exemplifies the ideological pathology behind the blood libel. It behooves each of us to call it by name.
As the prophet Isaiah declared, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet” (Isaiah 62:1). We will continue to defend our land, our people, and our heritage against those who seek to erase us.
Yael Ben-Ari is a diplomatic liaison of Regavim.