Benzi Gopstein

Palestinians gather at the Dawabsheh family home in the West Bank village of Duma following an arson attack by Jewish terrorists, August 1, 2015. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Jewish terrorism: Ashkenazim provide the fuel, Mizrahim light the match

Israeli leaders have imbued generations of Mizrahim with a hatred for both Arabs as well as their own Arab identity. The results have been deadly.

By Orly Noy May 19, 2020

Tens of thousands gather in Jerusalem's Liberty Bell Park for the annual pride march, August 2, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

20,000 take part in largest ever Jerusalem Pride March

Under heavy security, 20,000 members of the LGBTQ community and their supporters march in Jerusalem, three years after a religious extremist stabbed 15-year-old Shira Banki during the parade. Photos by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org Tens of thousands of members of the LGBTQ community and their supporters took part in the largest ever Jerusalem Pride March on Thursday. The event, which…

By +972 Magazine August 2, 2018

A participant in the Jerusalem pride parade holds up a sign in solidarity with LGBTQ Palestinians, Jerusalem, August 3, 2017. (Activestills.org)

Two years after stabbing, 20,000 participate in J’lem pride march

Police arrest man carrying a knife, two years after 16-year-old Shira Banki was stabbed to death at the Jerusalem pride march. Over 20,000 people took part in the annual Jerusalem pride march on Thursday afternoon, two years after 16-year-old Shira Banki was murdered at the march by a religious extremist. Hundreds of police officers were on hand,…

By Activestills August 4, 2017

Latest

Israelis protest over the Yemenite children affair, Jerusalem, June 21, 2017. (Activestills.org)

One of Israel’s most painful chapters comes to life in Jerusalem

After 60 years of covering up the disappearance of hundreds of Yemeni babies in the early years of the state, the time has come for justice and accountability. There were moments during Wednesday night’s rally to commemorate the Yemenite children affair in which I wondered how the tiles beneath us, in Jerusalem’s Mashbir Square, failed to crack…

By Orly Noy June 22, 2017

Radical right-wing activist Benzi Gopstein arrives at an Israeli police station in the West Bank for questioning, February 25, 2016. (Yonathan Sindel/Flash90)

What Israeli leftists can learn from the radical right

Right-wing activists keep suing Israeli police — and winning — for false arrests and other abuses of power. Maybe it’s time the state start paying for its abuses against left-wing activists and Palestinians. By Yael Marom Israeli police and prison officials were ordered to pay NIS 30,000 ($8,000) to radical right-wing activist Benzi Gopstein and…

By +972 Magazine September 17, 2016

Israeli activists graffitied anti-occupation slogans across Tel Aviv in the run-up to the 2016 pride parade. (photo: Activestills.org)

Ahead of Tel Aviv Pride, queer activists bring the occupation home

LGBTQ activists hang banners and graffiti anti-occupation slogans across Tel Aviv in the run-up to the city’s annual pride parade. 180,000 people are expected to take part in the festivities, at least half of them tourists. By Yael Marom In the run up to Friday’s Tel Aviv Pride festivities, Israeli LGBTQ activists hung banners and spray-painted…

By +972 Magazine June 3, 2016

A soldier shows his support as Michael Ben Ari, leader of Otzma Yehudit nationalist party is accompanied by Benzi Gopstein, head of the anti-miscegenation group Lehava, to walk in Jerusalem's Mahane Yeיuda market during an election campaign, January 16, 2015. Otzma Yehudit, meaning "Jewish strength," which failed to make the Knesset at the last elections, advocates for transferring Palestinians out of Israel and the West Bank.

Israel’s ethnic purity police presents: Anti-assimilation for men

In its ongoing efforts to save every Jewish soul, anti-assimilation group Yad L’Achim has broadened its offerings and is now extending its marriage-wrecking service to Jewish men in relationships with non-Jewish women. Israeli anti-miscegenation group Yad L’Achim took a step towards equality last week when it announced via its website that it had rolled out…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland February 15, 2016

Anti-Christian slogans scrawled on the entry to the Dormition Abbey, Jerusalem, January 17, 2016. (photo: Dormition Abbey)

Jewish extremists deface Jerusalem abbey with anti-Christian graffiti

Jerusalem’s Dormition Abbey has been vandalized for the second time in two years, with violent and threatening graffiti scrawled across its exterior. The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on Christians in Israel. The Dormition Abbey near the Old City of Jerusalem was vandalized overnight on Sunday, with numerous threatening and violent…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland January 17, 2016

Illustrative photo of children in a library. (photo: Shutterstock.com)

The uncomfortable context of Israel’s book ban

The decision to prevent high schools from teaching a Jewish-Palestinian love story might sound like an innocent attempt at promoting Jewish continuity. In fact, it’s the sound of Israel’s extreme right going mainstream. Israel’s Education Ministry announced Wednesday that it would ban Israeli high schools from teaching a novel about a love affair between a…

By Edo Konrad December 31, 2015

Screenshot of CCTV footage showing a man shooting a Palestinian teenage girl who stabbed an elderly Palestinian man in Jerusalem, November 23, 2015.

WATCH: How the far-right glorifies killing of Palestinians

The leader of a popular Jewish supremacist group circulates a new video that puts CCTV footage of stabbing attack to bouncy electronic music and violent, disturbing lyrics. Benzi Gopstein, the head of Lehava, posted a video on his Facebook page Monday glorifying the killing of Palestinians. Lehava is a popular Jewish supremacist group dedicated to preventing Arab-Jewish relations,…

By Mairav Zonszein November 24, 2015

Jewish nationalist activists from anti-miscegenation group Lehava protest in Rishon Lezion, August 17, 2014. (Activestills.org)

The right-wing group trying to keep downtown Jerusalem Arab-free

They roam the streets looking for either mixed Jewish-Palestinian couples or lone Arabs, protest at mixed weddings, and hand out racist leaflets. Their leaders are militant and well-organized, exploiting disaffected youth to do the dirty work. An inside look at the far-right group, Lehava, and the Jerusalem activists who are trying to put an end…

By +972 Magazine August 21, 2015

A man is seen crying following a mass stabbing attack against the Jerusalem LGBTQ Pride Parade in Jerusalem, July 30, 2015. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Pride parade stabber found fit to stand trial

Yishai Shlissel, the ultra-Orthodox man arrested for attacking marchers at Jerusalem’s Pride Parade for the second time, has been declared mentally fit to stand trial — again. Yishai Shlissel, the ultra-Orthodox man accused of murdering a teenage girl and injuring five other people in a stabbing attack at the Jerusalem pride parade last month, was declared mentally fit…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland August 20, 2015

Blood is seen on the pavement following a mass stabbing attack against the Jerusalem LGBTQ Pride Parade in Jerusalem, July 30, 2015. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Who will pay the price for the Jerusalem Pride stabbing?

After today’s stabbing, it is unthinkable that life will go on as usual. Especially when the people who fuel hate and incitement still roam the city. By Yael Marom In Jerusalem, everything has gone back to normal. The streets are full of people and cars, apathetic toward the crime that took place here just a…

By +972 Magazine July 30, 2015