Safed, Israel – The Shin Bet intelligence agency arrested far right figure Meir Etinger on Monday. Etinger, who has a banning order keeping him away from the West Bank and Jerusalem, is a resident of Safed, and was arrested by the Shin Bet, together with the Judea and Samaria Central police unit.
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The arrest came as the government approved harsher measures against Jewish extremists following a firebomb attack that killed a Palestinian baby in the West Bank village of Duma on Friday.
The Shin Bet said Etinger is in custody “due to his involvement and activities in extremist Jewish organizations.”
A security source said Ettinger, who is the grandson of the late ultra nationalist militant ideologue Meir Kahana, is suspected of being part of an “extremist infrastructure.”
The source declined to say whether the arrest had any direct link to the deadly arson attack on a Palestinian home in the village of Duma last week.
According to Channel 1, the extremist infrastructure that Ettinger built was behind the June 18 arson attack on the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes in the Galilee.
While two Jewish youths were indicted for that attack last week, there was not enough evidence to hold Etinger for his involvement, Channel 1 reported.
This led Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to institute administrative detention, in which Palestinian terror suspects are detained for an indeterminate amount of time without being charged, for Jewish terror suspects as well, Channel 1 reported. The move came as part of a series of moves by the government to crack down on Jewish extremists in the aftermath of the Duma attack.
According to Channel 1, members of the group led by Ettinger have gone as far as to discuss carrying out suicide terror attacks against Palestinians.
In a blog post published on July 30 on the Hakol Heyehudi (Jewish Voice) website, responding to a Shin Bet arrest of suspected arsonists behind the attack on the Church of the Loaves and the Fishes, Ettinger wrote, “The truth is I don’t know what the Shin Bet wanted me to organize… this impulse of the Shin Bet to create an atmosphere and make up displays as if there is an ‘organization’ that it exposes, explains to us well what the Shin Bet understands so well and is so afraid of… the Shin Bet understand that the activities they chase after… simply grow out of the ground from the most basic and popular understandings that cause people to feel that they need to do something.”
He added, “There is no terrorist organization, but there are lots and lots of Jews, much more than what they think, whose ladder of values is completely different from that of the High Court of Justice or the Shin Bet.”
“Like grandfather, like grandson”….The U.S. government had labeled Kahane Sr. as part of a terrorist organization and its seems to run in their DNA. A few months in jail should wipe that stupid smile off his face and if any connection is shown with the last week’s terrorist attack where a baby was burned alive, he will probably spend good part of his adult life in prison.
Like father like so like grandfather whatever.
Meir Kahane was a rabble rouser who fueled fueled to the fire. Incited Arabs against Jews and tried to do the same here in NY inciting blacks against Jews. Thankfully he was spit out of the community. It was widely known that every OTD became a member of the JDL.
Because of his actions he got killed. His son who followed him got killed with his wife. Numerous Misnachlim get killed daily becuase of Kahane’s preachings how important it is to live in the most dangerous place on planet earth :the occupied territories.
Rabbi Kahane didn’t do his antics becuase he loved Jews.Whatever he did was becuase of Israel. Now we have his grandson. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
so let me get this straight a Jew in Israel cannot visit the kotel but Hamas members can visit the kodesh hakodeshim (al -Aqsa mosque). I guess I can never understand the Zionist mentality. Yaalon sounds like Beria or Edgar Hoover, trying to squash all non-comfortists, something to think about when AIPAC says Israel is the ONLY true “democracy” in the middle east.
Like his Zede and Uncle this man will continue his fight. May Hashem give him koach and hatzlacha to stand up for Jews and Israel.
Meir Kahane HY’D never hurt a fly. His son Binyomin Zev never did either. They stood for Torah and Israel and did so loudly and clearly. That is why the Arab killers made sure to gun them down. This young man likely did not hurt anyone either. He will get a trial and if guilty, will go to jail. Likely, he is just low hanging fruit and being detained because of his background.
Is the Shin-Bet planning on killing Meir Ettinger like they did (via Arabs) the assassination of his grandfather Rabbi Meir Kahane Hy”d and his son Binyamin and wife Hy”d? There must be something with the Kahane’s that the politicians and Shin-Bet fear so much and want out of the way.
KAHANE WAS 100% CORRECT!!
To #3-Maven- I’m afraid that you don’t know what you are talking about, pertaining to the JDL and Meir Kahane; when he was active in NYC, from 1968-1971, his group guarded Shuls against arsonists, and vandals. Also, he protected Jewish teachers during the 1968 teacher’s strike, and helped elderly Jews in inner city neighborhoods, where they were victims of muggings and other crimes. In addition, he brought the problem of Soviet Jewry to page one. While I didn’t agree with all of his tactics, he brought pride to many Jews in NYC, and throughout the USA. Incidentally, he protected Jews from attacks, from minority groups. If he had been alive in 1991, the JDL would have ended the pogrom which took place in Crown Heights, in 1991, against the Jewish community.