Patrol 36 & Israel's deep-rooted Antisemitism

Writers: Nishka Pant & Erik Burckhardt

Antisemitism can be defined as hatred, hostility or aversion towards people with the Jewish faith. The world witnessed Antisemitism at a peak in Germany (1933-45) with millions of jews being brutally killed by the hands of the Nazis or when they suffered in the “Konzentrationslager” (Concentration Camps), because of working in inhumane conditions and getting a supply that was mostly under the minimum. Antisemitism was one of Adolf Hitler’s main policies and main means to grow political and spread the idea of a German empire. This empire should only be inhabited by people who fit into the image of the Arya race This, in turn, provoked a deep-rooted hatred towards Jews in many countries across the globe.

Among one of these countries is Israel, which was born in the wake of the Holocaust. Antisemitism is buried deep within the middle eastern country’s history and roots alike.

Israel as the last retreat for the Jews - The problem of not having an official country to live in.

Since the Jews were displaced by many countries they didn’t have a real place to live in. Israel was the only retreat option for orthodox Jews until many believers of other religions wanted to declare Israel as their home country for religion. From then on, most of the Jews who are living in Israel, have faced a lot of problems like racism and oppression. For many years the Jews were discriminated against by other people, because of their religion.

Nevertheless, Israel was, is and will be the only retreatment for the Jews. Also, the country is a region where many religions are getting conflicted with each other. So the Jews have to “share” even Israel with many other religions, due to which some people haven’t accepted the Jews for being there or are going as far as to defame the religion of the Jewish people.

What is Patrol 36?

Patrol 36 was an organization of 9 members with Eli Bonito as its leader. One should note that the members were Jewish - Russian immigrants. In addition to this, one of the members was the grandson of a Holocaust survivor. This organization was anti-Semitic in its belief and the members’ families were permitted to seek shelter in Israel under the Law of Return. The Law of Return which was passed on July 5, 1950, provided Jews with the right to live and gain citizenship within the Israeli state.

Patrol 36 participated in extremely hateful activities and vandalized synagogues ( places where the Jews worship) and conducted attacks on Haredi Jews. As stated by various reports, the organization’s members allegedly had tattoos inscribed with the number 88 which indicates a reference to the phrase “Heil Hitler” (H is the 8th letter in the Latin alphabet). This phrase was prominently used by members of Hitler’s Nazi party, named NSDAP, and also the normal folk( back when Hilter was still in control), to greet Hitler. The members of Patrol 36 knew that they were therefore passively supporting his political opinions like antisemitism.

The group first began to be thoroughly scrutinized in 2006 when two incidents of Neo-Nazi graffiti were reported in the city of Petah Tikva. The Israeli authorities arrested seven group members out of a total of nine on the 9th of September, 2009. While the remaining two members fled the country.

When the group’s activities were brought to light in the wake of the trial, the world was mortified. Consequently, the Law of Return was amended by the Israeli authorities to avoid any future exploitations of the law.

Racism and Anti- Semitism in Israel

Despite Israel being a Jewish majority state, members of the Jewish community still have to face many instances of racism and discrimination daily. Many reports indicate that intra- Jewish racism ( racism within jews) is still prevalent in the Israeli state. Ashkenazi

Jews have been discriminated against Jews originating from the Middle East and the North of Africa, known as Oriental, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. Many experts have indicated that the Israeli education system also plays a part in the discrimination of Jewish minorities belonging to North Africa and the Middle East. In 2010, it was reported that a Haredi school system was being sued under the allegations that it segregated or precluded Sephardi and Mizrahi students. Subsequently, the Israeli High Court issued a statement stating that segregation and discrimination against Sephardi and Mizrahi students were illegal.

In 1962, the Indian press, through articles, accused Israeli officials of discrimination and segregation against Jews who were of Indian origin or Bene Israel. This highly publicized controversy involved the Chief Rabbi of Israel as he ruled that ‘ before registering a marriage between Indian Jews and Jews not belonging to that community, a rabbi should investigate and look into the descent of the Indian Jew’ and consider the possibility of the Indian not being Jewish and in that case consider conversion.

One would expect that with time, as people and their thinking progress, the condition of the Jews would gradually improve but unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case. Attacks on synagogues began in 1986 and have continued till 2021 as well. On 11 and 19th of May, in 2021 itself, Arab rioters burned 10 synagogues in the city of Lod with arson attacks. On April 5, two arson attacks targeting synagogues in Bnei Brak and Ramal Gan took place with a gap of mere 15 minutes. On the 26th of January, 2019 a vandal reportedly spray-painted ‘ Hail Satan’ on the walls of the Orthodox MacDonald synagogue and even prayer books were burned.

While the Israeli government has been consistent in its efforts to improve the state of the Jewish people so that they can feel safe and secure within their home state, it is fair to say that the condition of the Jews is far from elation and security. All we can do is hope that in the end, humanity prevails over everything and the people with Jewish faith live to see the day when they can step out without the fear and insecurity of being discriminated against, segregated and attacked.

---