With Israel in turmoil, its 'lost boys' are helping stoke extreme right-wing nationalism

• We witnessed it during Canada’s so-called Freedom Convoy.
• For many, the answer lies in an Israeli movement that actively radicalizes boys and young men in its fight for an ethno-nationalist state of Israel.
• This practice is inspired and associated with the Kahanist movement and the Kach party, both banned at various points by Israel and the United States for being terrorist groups.

Street kids

• Many of them have experienced traumatic home lives prior to joining these radical youth groups.
• Deeply religious and spurred by a literal interpretation of the Torah, they have taken it upon themselves to create West Bank outposts that are deemed illegal by international law.
• Rather, the government has further legitimized their presence in the West Bank by setting up “rehabilitation” programs and homes.

Other youth brought to the West Bank

• These schools serve the youth illegally occupying these areas, but other young people from other areas are brought to the West Bank to live and attend school in these outposts.
• The “rehabilitation centres” therefore not only legitimize the presence of these outposts in the West Bank, but also allow them to proliferate through their success.
• They are working particularly closely with the officials in the new far-right government, several of whom have personal relationships with settlements in the West Bank, to retain the illegal occupation of the West Bank.

Channelling hatred

• This unit is also considered an opportunity for “rehabilitation” for these youth to channel their hatred and violence towards Palestinians in the area into military power and intelligence.
• The unit also works in the Jordan Valley, helping other youth co-opt Palestinian pastureland for their own use.

Larger strategy?

• The national security minister himself — Itamar Ben-Gvir — is a settler with ties to youth in the West Bank, indicating the presence and radicalization of these young men is part of a larger strategy to conquer the land while feigning diplomacy.
• Rather than receiving counselling and home placements, these boys are encouraged to use their fundamentalist teachings to support the army and government’s goal, no matter the personal toll.