Israelis find purpose in violence

It's No Wonder Israelis Want War. Violence Has Become a Source of Joy

What if one reason Israelis are so happy is that brutality has become pleasurable?

Dr. Ariel Handel

Ha’aretz: 01-08-2026

SOURCE: https://archive.is/5Daon

❝ It's hard to escape it. Violence is booming all around us. From the Gaza Strip to the West Bank – in pogroms perpetrated by settler militias against Palestinian communities, in police responses to demonstrations and even in the form of the concrete danger encountered by anyone who tries to cross a street or find a parking place – violence exists in every corner of Israeli society.

Probably the clearest manifestation of the ostensible joy of violence takes the form of what's referred to as "happy Jews." In 2015, journalists Akiva Novick and Chaim Levinson explained in their report, "The Complete Hilltop Lexicon," that happy Jews are those "who are not bound to the archaic conventions and rules of morality, and carry out 'price tag' [retaliatory operations against Palestinians] with a smile on their face."

Invitations to carry out pogroms are circulated on colorful, cheerful posters that look more like flyers for an open-air rave than calls to violence.

What makes these so-called hilltop youth so happy? The answer is not that they are happy from the get-go and opted for violence. On the contrary: The violence itself constitutes the source of their happiness. It affords them a feeling of strength, belonging and meaning. What differentiates happy Jews from Jews who are not happy is not their worldview, but the very act of participating in violence.

Happiness that results from using violence against Palestinians has migrated from the settlers' militias to the institutionalized army, as seen in thousands of expressions of happiness posted in social media about the destruction of the Gaza Strip. From homes that were bombed or torched, to dance parties with soldiers brandishing the panties of Gazan women, to destruction and brutality that have been celebrated openly. ❞