Settler pamphlet aims to turn youth against 2-state solution

Yesha Council comic-style booklet, set to be distributed across country, argues Palestinians have no claim to West Bank

By Adiv Sterman
  • Adiv Sterman is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
 8 September 2015, 1:53 pm
A page from a pamphlet published by the Yesha Council (Council of Judea and Samaria). The headline reads: 'So who are the Palestinians?'. In the comic speech bubbles on the left, the Israeli says: 'So do you say Palestines or Palestinians?' and the Arab man answers: 'Well, first you say Shalom [hello]'. (Courtesy Yesha Council)

The Yesha Council settler organization is set to distribute an illustrated pamphlet detailing numerous right-wing talking points, in an attempt to spread the group’s messages against the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The council is also reportedly considering disturbing the pamphlet among Jewish schoolchildren in the West Bank.

The pamphlet, titled Kibush Kishkush, which roughly translates from the Hebrew as Occupation Shmoccupation, features comic-book style entries created by illustrator Shlomi Charka, arguing that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unattainable, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. The pamphlet also makes an effort to justify the existence of Jewish settlements in the West Bank by emphasizing that never in history had a Palestinian state existed in the area.

Another contentious issue discussed in the pamphlet revolves around the so-called price tag attacks associated with religious, far-right Jewish groups, the report said. While it unequivocally condemns the attacks, the pamphlet makes sure to note that “there are cases of infighting among Arabs over land,” in what seems to be a subtle nod to conspiracy theorists who claim that Jews are for the most part not behind price tag assaults.

A page from the pamphlet published by the Yesha Council (Council of Judea and Samaria). The headline on the right reads: ‘So why live in the settlements in the first place, isn’t it dangerous?’ The caricatured settler on the left is depicted next to a scene of urban pollution, pointing to the high quality of life and low pollution in the settlements. (Courtesy Yesha Council)

Yesha Council spokesman Yigal Dilmoni told Yedioth that the goal of the pamphlet was to equip young Israelis with the tools necessary to “answer to the arguments of left-wing groups.”

“We look at the future generation,” Dilmoni said. “Our generation will not bring quiet with the Palestinians, and so it is important for us that the younger generation recognize the facts and not base themselves on the stigmas that the left-wing organizations plant in their heads.”

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