The dominant argument here regarding the situation with these Neo-Nazis in Israel seems to be of seeing them as "not really Jewish" Russians who got here on a technicality of the Law of Return which says: "the rights of an oleh [immigrant] under any other enactment, are also vested in a child and a grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew and the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew, except for a person who has been a Jew and has voluntarily changed his religion."
Apparently, the majority (or all I am not sure) of those arrested came here through having one grandparent who was Jewish, so there has been discussion/argument now about needing to change the Law of Return in some way that would make it either not possible for them to make Aliyah in the future, or to have a formal way of revoking it. However, I don't see this as going anywhere, because Israel is scrounging around for as many immigrants as possible (as long as they aren't Muslim or Palestinian), for the demographic war they see themselves as being in, and they have a hard enough time with it already...
Apparently, Arik (Eli) Bunyatov, 21, who I guess is seen as the ring-leader of the neo-nazi group arrested, stated: "My grandfather was a half-Jewboy. I will not have children so that this trash will not be born with even a tiny [percentage] of Jewboy blood."
Israeli Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Eli Yishai of the Shas (Mizrahi Orthodox) Party stated: "These people are not fit to be called people. They are a cancer." and called for their citizenship to be revoked.
The main theme here is externalizing the problem...these aren't really Jews, and these aren't really Israelis...there was discussion that they were connected to Format 18 and that this is a Russian problem and this has nothing to do with the real social problems in Israel or issues with how well absorbing of immigrants goes. (there is some discussion of these internal social problematics among the typical Left and liberal media outlets, but by far not dominant or majority opinion)
Chris Doss wrote:
> As I'm sure you know, a neo-Nazi group composed of
> teenagers whose parents emigrated from the former
> Soviet Union was busted up a few days ago in Tel Aviv.
> We've been discussing this on a Russia-themed blog I
> frequent (this one: http://seansrussiablog.org/ ) and
> even though the subject is properly Israel, a certain
> nut keeps turning it back in circles as part of his
> crazed attempt to deny that anti-Semitism has ever
> existed in Russia. Since these people grew up in
> Israel I don't see what this has to do with anything.
> Anyway, I was wondering if you could tell me what the
> buzz is in Israel about this? (If you'd let me forward
> your comments to teh blog, I'd appreciate it.) Thanks!
>