Israel: pogromi on pogromi, vaikka voissa paistaisi

Yksi Venäjän keisarikunnan ”lahjoista” kansainväliseen sanastoon on pogromi. Lyhyesti luonnehdittuna pogromeissa oli kyse siviilien kohdistamasta väkivallasta ja tuhovimmasta juutalaisia ja heidän omaisuuttaan kohtaan järjestysvallan seuratessa usein sivusta ellei pahimmillaan osallistuessa itsekin tapahtumiin. USA:n holokaustimuseo määrittelee:

“Pogrom is a Russian word meaning “to wreak havoc, to demolish violently.” Historically, the term refers to violent attacks by local non-Jewish populations on Jews in the Russian Empire and in other countries.

– – –

The perpetrators of pogroms organized locally, sometimes with government and police encouragement. They raped and murdered their Jewish victims and looted their property.”[1]

Oleellista pogromeille oli kolme tunnusmerkkiä: väkivalta ryöstelyineen, valtion osallisuus sekä pakkosiirrot:

“Violence and Looting: Mass killings, physical assaults, sexual violence, and the destruction of homes, synagogues, and businesses.

State Complicity: Authorities often turned a blind eye or actively encouraged the violence.

Forced Displacement: Survivors were frequently driven from their homes, losing their possessions and communities.”[2]

Sittemmin nimitystä pogromi on alettu käyttää myös muihin kuin juutalaisiin kohdistuneista vainoista tapahtumien liittyessä yhteiskunnan rappeutumiseen:

“While most associated with the Russian Empire’s persecution of Jews, pogrom-like violence has occurred throughout history against various minority groups. Examples include:

The anti-Armenian massacres in the late Ottoman Empire.

The anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in 18th-century London.

Kristallnacht (1938), a state-sponsored pogrom in Nazi Germany.

The defining feature of a pogrom is its organised nature, often with explicit or implicit state approval. Pogroms signal societal decay, where prejudice and bigotry are left to fester and escalate.”[3]

Termi on muuttunut niin yleismaailmalliseksi, että sitä on käytetty myös Israelin toimien luonnehtimiseen miehitetyllä Länsirannalla:

“The term “pogrom” is still in use describing contemporary events. In 1991 the Jewish media referred to the Crown Heights riots in Brooklyn as a pogrom, and in 2008 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert used the term to describe Jewish settlers‘ attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron. There is no consensus as to the exact defining characteristics of a pogrom, but the term still tends to refer to coordinated street violence against Jews and sometimes other ethnic groups.”[4]

YK:n tietojen mukaan tänä vuonna Länsirannalla on Israelin siirtokuntalaisten käsissä kuollut 23 palestiinalaista ja loukkaantunut 1 040, minkä lisäksi tulevat omaisuusvahingot. Tapettuja palestiinalaisia on yhteensä 79, joten lopuista surmatuista vastannee Israelin puolustusvoimat IDF.[5] Yleistyvästä väkivallasta on kerrottu myös Israelin tiedotusvälineissä; kuolonuhrien määräksi tosin mainitaan vain kuusi[6].

Israelin presidentti Isaac Herzogin tuore kannanotto on huomion arvoinen:

”An example is Herzog’s reaction to the violence in the West Bank village of Kusra, where local and foreign media personnel have reported that masked Israelis are creating anarchy and are attacking innocent Palestinians and setting fire to their property. Political pundits insist that it is more than a criminal issue. It is also a political issue that serves the interests of the far Right, and to some extent the interests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even though Netanyahu has more than once castigated those Israelis who are targeting innocent Palestinians.

In condemning the Israeli vigilantes, Herzog declared, “The government, security agencies, judicial authorities, and law-enforcement bodies must act now, using every possible means to root out this unacceptable phenomenon and bring the perpetrators to justice.””[7]

Selvyyden vuoksi suomennan Herzogin toisen kappaleen sitaatin: ”Hallituksen, turvallisuusviranomaisten, oikeuslaitoksen ja lainvalvontaviranomaisten on toimittava heti ja käytettävä kaikkia mahdollisia keinoja tämän sietämättömän ilmiön kitkemiseksi ja syyllisten saattamiseksi oikeuden eteen.”

Herzogin mielestä Israelin valtiokoneisto ei siis toimi Länsirannalla kuten pitää. Hän ei kuitenkaan voi tehdä paljoa muuta kuin ottaa kantaa, koska Israelin presidentin tehtävä on vain edustuksellinen.

Myös Israelin ystävä, USA:n nykyinen suurlähettiläs Mike Huckabee[8] arvostelee Länsirannan tapahtumia:

“The U.S. ambassador to Israel condemned Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank again on Saturday, calling the behavior an ”act of terror” as he visited with Palestinian American residents shaken by months of attacks.

”If there are squatters that come in and put up their own flags and take possession of something that does not belong to them, if they burn a car, if they torch a mosque, if they go into someone’s home and vandalize it, paint graffiti on the walls, that’s a criminal act. But it extends beyond a criminal act. It’s an act of terror,” Ambassador Mike Huckabee said during his visit to the village of Turmus Ayya, which has reported frequent attacks by settlers over the past year.”[9]

Määritelmän mukaan pogromit liittyvät yhteiskunnan rappeutumiseen. Israelissa rappion syynä ovat valtion hallitusta myöten istuvat kansalliskiihkoilijat. Yksi heistä on valtiovarainministeri Bezalel Smotrich, siirtokuntalainen itsekin[10]. Hänen vihansa ulottuu myös omiin ”väärinajattelijoihin” kuten korkeimman oikeuden presidenttiin, korkeimman oikeuden jäseneen ja oikeuskansleriin. Tuoreessa Smotrichin puolueen tekoälyllä tehdyssä vaalimainoksessa kuvataan mainittujen henkilöiden väkivaltaista pidättämistä.[11]

Toinen kiihkoilijoiden kuumimmasta päästä on Itamar Ben Gvir, miehitetyn Länsirannan asukas hänkin. Kansallisen turvallisuuden ministeriksi miehellä on vähintäänkin värikäs tausta: rikostuomioita on muun muassa järjestyksen häirinnästä, rasismiin kiihottamisesta ja terroristijärjestön tukemisesta[12]. Värikkäästi Ben Gvirin toimia kuvaa myös Israelin vankkumaton ystävä, USA:lainen republikaanisenaattori Jerry Nadler[13]:

“Violence in the West Bank has reached a fever pitch, and Itamar Ben-Gvir serves as inciter-in-chief of some of the deadliest settler violence. We must be crystal clear about who Itamar Ben-Gvir is: he is a racist, terrorist, Jewish supremacist. This legislation sends a message: Ben-Gvir’s incitement is not welcome in our communities and in the United States.”[14]

Äskettäin 12 valtiota, Suomi muiden muassa, julkaisi Israelin toimia Länsirannalla koskevan kannanoton. Siirtokuntalaisten toiminta mainitaan kohdissa yksi, kolme ja neljä ilman termiä pogromi, vaikka se sopii asiayhteyteen (tekstiä ei liene julkaistu suomeksi):

“1. The Government of Israel’s actions in the West Bank are undermining the possibility of a two-state solution. The situation is rapidly deteriorating amid unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the President of France Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney have agreed on the need to take action to prevent further damage.

2. Today,Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK confirm their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures. In this regard, the UK, France and Canada welcome the important action already taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Norway and will bring forward national measures to ban trade in settlement goods.

3. Together, we are resolute: the two-state solution must be protected, and we will take action in pursuit of a just and lasting peace, based on the principles enshrined in the New York Declaration adopted one year ago. We firmly oppose actions tantamount to the annexation of Palestinian land and forcible displacement of the Palestinian population.

4. The Government of Israel must immediately halt the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces.

5. We recognize Israel’s legitimate security interests and reiterate our condemnation of the Hamas 7 October terrorist attack, the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust. We are clear in our determination to tackle antisemitism wherever it occurs. We are unequivocally committed to the two-state solution, in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, that enables Israel and a sovereign, democratic and viable Palestinian state to live side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition within secure and internationally recognised borders.”[15]

Viime päivinä on saatu viitteitä myös siitä, että Länsirannalla harjoitettua terroria yritetään laajentaa arabialueille Galileaan, joka on kuulunut Israelin valtioon itsenäistymisestä lähtien. Tässä vaiheessa Majd al-Krumissa tehty offensiivi on torjuttu, mutta kuinka kauan tilanne pysyy hallinnassa?[16]

Joka tapauksessa tilanne ei enää ole hallinnassa miehitetyllä Länsirannalla. Ja kuten näkyy, ainakin osa valtion järjestysvallasta seuraa tapahtumia sivusta, ellei pahimmillaan itsekin osallistu niihin. Pogromi on pogromi, toteutui se sitten Venäjän keisarikunnan tai pogromien uhrien jälkeläisille perustetun Israelin suojeluksessa.

Terveisin Kalevi Kämäräinen

[1] https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/pogroms

[2] https://www.australianjewishnews.com/pogrom/

[3] https://www.australianjewishnews.com/pogrom/

[4] https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/what-were-pogroms/

[5] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs “Humanitarian Situation Report | 28 August 2026”; https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-report-28-august-2026

[6] Jerusalem Post 10.8.2026 “West Bank nationalist crime jumped 63% in first half of 2026, Israeli security data shows – report”; https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-905092

[7] Jerusalem Post 12.9.2026 ”As his presidency enters its final stretch, Isaac Herzog lays out his three priorities for Israel”; https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-908344

[8] Foxnews 12.11.2024 “Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is the choice to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel in the incoming Trump administration, President-elect Trump announced on Tuesday.

Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, is another in a growing list of strong Israel supporters announced or reported to be in Trump’s next administration. Trump has promised to strengthen U.S. ties with Israel as it fights wars against Iran-backed terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-nominates-mike-huckabee-us-ambassador-israel

[9] CBS News 5.9.2026 ”U.S. ambassador to Israel says ”act of terror” cannot continue after weeks of West Bank unrest”;

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-huckabee-west-bank-settler-violence/

[10] The Times of Israel 5.3.2017 “Lawmaker seeks probe of right-wing MK’s settlement home”;

https://www.timesofisrael.com/lawmaker-seeks-probe-of-right-wing-mks-settlement-home/

[11] Jerusalem Post 15.9.2026 “WATCH: RZP releases AI video showing arrests of judicial officials as part of election campaign”; https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-908686

[12] The Times of Israel “Ben Gvir said to cancel US trip at last moment due to visa complications”;

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ben-gvir-said-to-cancel-us-trip-at-last-moment-due-to-visa-complications/

[13] Congressman Jerry Nadler New York’s 12^th District “Supporting Israel and Combating Anti-Semitism”;

https://nadler.house.gov/about-jerry/supporting-israel-and-combating-anti-semitism.htm

[14] Nadlerin X-päivitys 29.4.2025;  https://x.com/RepJerryNadler/status/1916968453044682958

[15] https://um.fi/current-affairs/-/asset_publisher/gc654PySnjTX/content/statement-of-the-foreign-ministers-of-canada-denmark-finland-france-iceland-ireland-norway-poland-portugal-spain-sweden-and-the-uk-on-the-two-state-solution/35732

[16] Times of Israel 16.9.2026 “JNF said to order removal of outpost that settlers set up in Galilee Arab municipality”; https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/jnf-said-to-order-removal-of-outpost-that-settlers-set-up-in-galilee-arab-municipality/