No Quick Fix to Rein In Radical Islam

JERUSALEM, Israel – On the same day Israel announced its decision to outlaw an Islamic terror group, a new study revealed that 57 percent of Israeli Arabs identify with the group's radical agenda and 42 percent support it.

Those numbers explain why some analysts say Israel will not be able to fully enforce the ban. It simply involves too large a percentage of the Muslim population in Israel, many of whom support the movement.

In an in-depth analysis posted Wednesday, Jerusalem Post Middle East correspondent Ariel Ben Solomon pointed out that the northern and southern branches of the Islamic Movement in Israel are "highly integrated" into society and supported by most Muslim citizens.

Quoting a top scholar on Arab-Jewish relations, Solomon articulated the crux of the problem facing Israel: Muslims perceive attempts to rein in radical groups as an assault against Islam.

Meanwhile, several Israeli Arab Knesset members also railed against the ban, declaring it a veiled effort to delegitimize the Arab public at large.

MK Ayman Odeh, chairman of the Arab parties' Joint List, told Israel's Army Radio the decision "places an entire organization outside the law, including non-profits that serve the needy."

According to Odeh, Netanyahu's exposé on the close relationship between Haj Amin al-Husseini, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem, and Adolph Hitler constitutes an agenda to delegitimize the Arab population.

"Netanyahu has an agenda," Odeh said. "He talks about Hitler's mufti and the Holocaust. He tries to delegitimize all the Arab population," Arutz Sheva reported.

Israel is not the only country dealing with the influence of radical Islamists on the Muslim population. Many European countries – England, France, Sweden, and Spain, to name a few, are struggling to find a balance.

Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked told the audience at the Jerusalem Post's annual diplomatic conference Wednesday the nations of the world must "draw a clear distinction between civilization and the agents of death."

"The attacks in Paris are just the latest episode in the sequence of terror attacks, stretching from Beersheva, Kiryat Arba, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, in which dark forces threaten civilization."

Quoting French President François Holland, Shaked said, "The war is not limited to France. That's not a local conflict, but a global war."