(TPS) Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old US-Turkish national and member of the International Solidarity Movement, was killed on Friday during violent Arab clashes in the village of Beita. While the ISM describes itself as a non-violent movement, experts told The Press Service of Israel it has been fueling unrest in Judea and Samaria for years.
“The ISM has a long history of cooperating with and protecting Palestinian terrorists. In 2003, the two suicide bombers who attacked a bar in Tel Aviv (Mike’s Place) spent time with ISM supporters a few days before the attack,” Professor Gerald Steinberg, President of NGO-Monitor, a Jerusalem-based organization that monitors the activities of non-governmental organizations, told TPS-IL.
The Movement’s prominent figures were uncovered by HaKol HaYehudi, an independent Jewish Zionist non-profit media outlet, showing that members like Paul Larudee, Neta Golan, and Guy Hirschfeld play central roles in anti-Israel activities.
Larudee, co-founder of the Northern California branch of ISM, is a central figure known for supporting armed resistance against Israel and participating in anti-Israel initiatives such as the Free Gaza flotilla. Neta Golan, an Israeli citizen and co-founder of ISM, is prominent in organizing protests and advocating for “Palestinian resistance”, both online and on the ground in the Judea and Samaria. Guy Hirschfeld, an Israeli anarchist and ISM member, is actively involved in anti-IDF activities, particularly in the Hebron area, where he often confronts Israeli soldiers and citizens, pushing for delegitimization of Israel through protests and provocations.
Israeli authorities have been urged to take legal measures against ISM activists for their role in BDS and anti-Israel activities, but enforcement remains limited.
Elchanan Gruner, an investigative journalist for HaKol HaYehudi criticized the authorities’ slow response to ISM’s growing presence in Judea and Samaria.
“Recently, we have identified a growing trend of ISM activist delegations arriving in the country, particularly in the Hebron Hills, the Jordan Valley, and the village of Kutsra in Binyamin area, which is not far from Beita. We have alerted every available authority,” he told TPS-IL.
“Despite this, with a few exceptions, the authorities do not understand the immense damage caused by the anarchists’ activities and are not taking action to remove them from the country, even though there are legal tools to do so,” Gruner claimed.
The ISM claims that its funding comes from grassroots donations and this is not the first time they are linked to violent activities against Israel, Steinberg said.
The Documenting and Monitoring Unauthorized Activities (DMU) organization that monitors anarchist activities in Judea and Samaria has also reached out to the authorities, trying to reduce the possible damage by their activity.
“In recent weeks, we alerted Israeli authorities that a group of ISM activists, a terror-supporting organization, infiltrated Israel and are participating in violent riots. Had Israel enforced its laws, this could have been prevented,” a DMU spokesperson told TPS-IL.
In March, during a Knesset subcommittee hearing, Avishai Muallem, commander of the Judea and Samaria District Central Unit police commander, revealed that a large portion of “settler violence” complaints were fabricated by these activists, who enter Israel posing as tourists.
The DMU project confirmed that, adding that ISM activists undergo a two-day training program in Palestinian Authority controlled territories, preparing them for confrontations with Israeli law enforcement and military operations. These activists pay nominal fees for training and accommodation, often remaining in Israel for extended periods of time.
Despite the extensive review and police testimony, it does not appear that the necessary steps were taken in this regard. DMU stressed that the actions of the anarchists aim to tarnish Israel’s image, create negative media portrayals, and potentially fuel international legal actions against Israeli security forces, which brings up questions of American citizens participating in such activities and the connection to the sanctions been imposed on Israeli citizens in the last year.
“U.S. law enforcement must investigate how American citizens are operating within a Hamas-supporting organization, engaging in violence, inciting unrest, and later portraying themselves as victims,” DMU spokesperson asserted.
