Podcast Summary: "The Rise of Settler Violence"

Podcast: Call Me Back with Dan Senor
Guests: Rabbi David Stav and Nadav Eyal
Date: December 29, 2025

Overview: Confronting Settler Violence in the West Bank

This episode tackles the rise of extremist settler violence in the West Bank, a subject frequently raised by the show’s largely diaspora Jewish audience. Host Dan Senor is joined by Rabbi David Stav, a leading voice in Israel’s national religious community, and Nadav Eyal, experienced journalist and contributor with deep ties to Israel’s security establishment. Together, they explore the scope, roots, motivations, and implications of settler violence—not as a counterweight to Palestinian terrorism, but as a critical challenge to Israel’s moral and societal fabric.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal and National Embarrassment

• Rabbi Stav's Initial Reaction ([00:08], [05:13])
  • “The first feeling and the ultimate feeling is being embarrassed by these people that actually represent my nation, represent my religion, and people that are doing things that are against the Jewish law, against the Israeli law and against their moral values.”
  • Rabbi Stav reiterates his shame in seeing young Israelis commit violence against Palestinians and IDF soldiers.

2. Who Are "The Settlers"? Dispelling the Monolith

• Complexity of Settler Identity ([06:03] – [08:52])

  • Host Dan urges precision, noting “settler” as a category is far from monolithic.
  • Rabbi Stav: 99% of settlers are law-abiding citizens; violent extremists are a very small, mostly marginalized group (mainly males aged 16-20, often not conscripted into the army, often disconnected from religious authority).

• Hebrew Terminology & Historical Nuance ([09:13])

  • “If you translate [settler] to Hebrew, to the word mityashev, which means settling, it has a very positive meaning... after 1967, in the territories... when they are called settlers, it’s translated in Hebrew to the word mitnachel, which... has a negative meaning.”

3. Historical Context and Settlement Movement Evolution

• Shifting Governmental Attitudes ([10:03] – [12:30])
  • Nadav: Settlement movement was “extremely controversial from the beginning,” with the early settlements often sanctioned for strategic reasons.
  • After 1977, under Likud, rapid expansion occurred, and today, different governmental attitudes prevail.

4. Mapping the Settler Ecosystem

• Varieties of Settler Groups ([12:30] – [18:08])
  • Mainstream Settler Leadership: Deeply entrenched in government; generally law-abiding and government-aligned.
  • Hilltop Youth: Disenfranchised young extremists (few hundred “activists”); reject Israeli state authority; sometimes attack IDF soldiers and frequently target Palestinians and their property.
  • Hilltop Youth vs. Farms ([18:16] – [20:12]):
    • Farms: Post-October 7, state-supported “farms” (family outposts and shepherds) used to control West Bank territory; often distinct from hilltop youth; sometimes encouraged by IDF.

5. Law Enforcement Challenges

• Fragmented Enforcement & Political Paralysis ([20:12] – [24:53])
  • Responsibility is split: outwardly, the IDF; inward-facing, the Israeli police.
  • Both guests agree enforcement has broken down, especially since Itamar Ben-Gvir (an ex-Hilltop Youth, now Minister in charge of police) took office.
  • Nadav: “If you talk with the Shin Bet, if you talk with the IDF, their main frustration is with the police. And it’s since Ben-Gvir is there.”

6. Community Response and Hesitation

• Public and Rabbinic Silence Out of Fear ([24:53] – [26:06])
  • Rabbi Stav: Many leaders are afraid to publicly condemn; fear of retaliation and a sense of government complicity breed silence among the law-abiding majority.

7. Security Establishment’s View: A Threat to the State

• Shabak Letter ([26:06] – [27:40])
  • Nadav quotes former Shabak head Ronen Bar:
    • “The leaders of this phenomenon seek to push the system into loss of control. The damage to the State of Israel is indescribable... It constitutes a challenge to the nation state.”
  • Both guests agree with the gravity of this assessment.

8. Motivations and Ideologies Behind the Violence

• Not Just Vigilantism—A Rebellion Against Zionist Consensus ([30:37])

  • Rabbi Stav: “It’s a kind of resisting movement against the mainstream of Zionism... They want to establish a different model of a state—a Kingdom of Judea that will be following the rules of God...”
  • Nadav: For many, the endgoal is “to expel all the Arabs... It’s all ours.”

• Examples of Tactics ([32:55] – [35:56])

  • Nadav reads from extremist chat groups reporting attacks on Palestinian property (“Jews torched a car”, “chopped down 40 olive trees”, etc.)

• Distinguishing Past from Present ([35:56])

  • Rabbi Stav: The settlement founders (Rav Zviuda Cook, et al) explicitly distinguished between national struggle and expulsion of Arabs; today’s Hilltop Youth are not their ideological heirs.

9. Government Policy Shifts

• Hard Right Turn and Expanded Settler Power ([37:17] – [44:08])

  • 2023’s government: “most far right” in Israeli history.
  • Ben-Gvir’s control over police and Smotrich’s expanded power in the West Bank are “the biggest political project in terms of changing the land in many years.” Smotrich now “controls more territory... than all of the settlements in the West Bank together.”
  • “Farms” now operate in legal gray areas, using workarounds to claim land.

• Ongoing Confrontations ([42:07] – [44:08])

  • Confrontations now arise daily between armed Jewish shepherds and Palestinian shepherds, leading to instability and violence.

10. Prospects for Coexistence

• Is It Still Possible? ([44:08])
  • Rabbi Stav: “I see no other choice but to live next to my Arab neighbors. And we will have to find a way. But the way does not mean necessarily that we should ignore all the violence that the Israelis are doing.”

11. Prescriptions: What Can Be Done?

• Multifaceted Response Needed ([45:20])
  • Rabbi Stav’s three-pronged solution:
    1. Law enforcement must “enforce its power on these youngsters.”
    2. Social assistance (“many...came from normal families, and...need to be treated” by professionals).
    3. Rebuild trust with some rabbinic authority to “try to guide them,” minimizing violence.

Notable Quotes and Moments

• “I feel embarrassed... these people that actually represent my nation, represent my religion, and people that are doing things that are against the Jewish law, against the Israeli law and against their moral values.”
  – Rabbi Stav ([00:08], [05:13])

• “There is a very small group... and unfortunately causes a lot of damage.”
  – Rabbi Stav ([06:38])

• “The hilltop youth... don’t accept the authority of the State of Israel, and they attack the IDF itself.”
  – Nadav ([13:48])

• “The leaders of this phenomenon seek to push the system into loss of control. The damage to the state of Israel is indescribable.”
  – Quoting Ronen Bar, Shabak ([26:54])

• “The only way, they are saying, is to expel all the Arabs... First of all, expel them from near the settlements, then go on to expel them everywhere from Eretz Yisrael. ‘It’s all ours.’”
  – Nadav ([32:55])

• “I believe that there is no other way. Because if we want... to remain in Judea and Samaria... I see no other choice but to live next to my Arab neighbors.”
  – Rabbi Stav ([44:08])

Important Timestamps

• [00:08] – Rabbi Stav on personal embarrassment and moral crisis
• [05:13] – First articulation of the depth of embarrassment and distinction from mainstream religious Zionism
• [12:30] – [18:08] – Detailed mapping of different settler groups and ideologies
• [20:12] – [24:53] – Law enforcement breakdown; Ben-Gvir’s influence; political reticence
• [26:06] – Reading from letter by Shabak head Ronen Bar
• [30:37] – Inside the motivations and radical ideology of the hilltop youth
• [37:24] – Discussion of recent government changes and their effects on enforcement and land policy
• [44:08] – [46:19] – Rabbi Stav on coexistence and prescription for response

Tone

The episode is raw, direct, and honest—a blend of alarm, frustration, and sober analysis. Both guests express personal distress, moral discomfort, and clear condemnation of violence, balanced by insistence on not erasing the complexity of the West Bank, the broader context of terror, and the challenge for diaspora Jews in explaining Israel’s situation to the world.

Conclusion

The episode delivers a comprehensive look at a distressing phenomenon within Israeli society, with both guests agreeing on the urgent need for law enforcement, social intervention, and rebuilding moral and rabbinic leadership. Settler violence, they argue, represents not the mainstream but a dangerous, destabilizing fringe—yet its impact is profound, both for Israel’s security and its moral standing.

For the full conversation and further insights, listeners are encouraged to revisit specific timestamps above.