Israeli neo-Nazi ring caught after attacks on synagogues | Israel and the Middle East | Guardian Unlimited

by angryindian | September 10, 2007 at 10:13 am

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While the activities of neo-Nazis are still a quiet yet pervasive undercurrent in the EU and Russia, Israel has only seen slight Nazi direct actions since repatriation of the Jewish Diaspora. Old attitudes die hard and former citizens of Russia are bring their extremist sentiments along with the rest of their baggage. Entering Israel primarily due to the widespread economic depression that occured soon after the end of the old system, these "self-hating Jews" have aligned themselves with German fascist ideology and participate in attacks on Israelis and Arabs under the guise of ethnic cleansing. Residing in tight-knit Russian communities that are strongly socio-politically marginalised by the greater Israeli population, the climate in these areas have become a fertile breeding ground for anti-social behaviour in what could only be accurately described as the most powerful imagery possible given the circumstances.
The lessons from this are universal. And avoidable. - The Angryindian

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Israeli neo-Nazi ring caught after attacks on synagogues | Israel and the Middle East | Guardian Unlimited: "Police in Israel have uncovered a neo-Nazi ring which was responsible for vandalising synagogues and carrying out attacks on Jews and foreign workers in Israel, a court was told yesterday. The group of eight Russian immigrants aged between 18 and 21 appeared in court following an 18-month investigation into attacks on two synagogues in which swastikas were painted on the walls of the buildings. The men covered their heads with their shirts during the hearing, revealing arms tattooed with Nazi imagery. More than a million people from the former Soviet Union have emigrated to Israel, which has a population of seven million, since 1990, taking advantage of Israel's Law of Return which allows anyone to claim citizenship if they have a Jewish grandparent. Many of the new immigrants have little connection to Judaism and emigrated for economic reasons. Many Russians live in large communities in Israel's cities in which they have little interaction with other Israelis."