Israelis who rely on Judaism to protect West Bank Palestinians

In much of the Middle East, politics and security are closely intertwined with religion and ethnicity. In Israel, a small but growing minority of citizens seek to improve their country’s security by upholding both the principles of democracy and Jewish directives governing the treatment of fellow humans.

In the aftermath of the 2023 Hamas attack that killed some 1,200 Israelis, this effort is not easy.

Since the Oct. 7 attack, Israel has been focused on wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. Yet at the same time, violence by mainly Orthodox Jewish settlers against Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank has spiked. Some 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in encounters with settlers or with Israeli security forces since 2023. The United Nations reported an average of six such attacks a day during the first half of 2026.

How have Israelis reacted to this violence? According to an opinion poll in April, nearly two-thirds believe that “settler violence constitutes a serious problem amounting to Jewish terrorism” and that it harms the country’s “international standing.”

But, as the Monitor reported on Wednesday, a growing number of both secular and religiously observant Jews are showing “another face of Judaism” through the practice of “protective presence.” This involves regularly visiting and even staying overnight in Palestinian villages or homes as a way to deter settler attacks.

“Not leaving Palestinians alone is a thundering command emanating from Jewish history and Jewish tradition,” Rabbi Arik Ascherman, a founder of the movement, wrote on the Haaretz news site recently.

Many commentators have joined in citing a need to assert Jewish ethics. In July, a group of more than 550 retired high-ranking military and security officers wrote an open letter to President Donald Trump urging him to raise the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They cautioned that, contrary to democracy and justice, members of the Israeli government were “shielding their followers – who are armed and driven by messianic impulses – from the law.”

Israel has occupied the West Bank since a 1967 war with Arab countries, permitting Jewish settlements to be built and expanded there, in contravention of international law. Home to some 3 million Palestinians, the West Bank is viewed by analysts as the basis for an eventual Palestinian state.

For some Israeli Jews, expanding their expression of faith requires a more inclusive concept of country and community. And it’s one that could shore up security for all in the region, Israelis and Palestinians.

“There is no real connection to the land without connection to the people who live on it,” a religious activist told Jewish News last December. “Our ancestors spoke Arabic. They were connected to this place in ways we are still trying to rebuild. For me, activism is ... part of making this a holy place that can contain everyone.”

Editor’s note: The photo caption has been updated to indicate Rabbi Ascherman’s affiliation with Rabbis for Human Rights as a longtime former leader, not a founder.