Neo-Nazi Attacks in Israel

September 10, 2007: Israeli police arrested eight neo-Nazi youths allegedly responsible for violent attacks on Jews, homosexuals, drug addicts and the homeless in Israel. The gang, whose ages ranged from 16 to 21, are the first neo-Nazi cell to originate in Israel since the state was formed in 1948.¹

Fast Facts

1. Police recovered video footage of the 'Nazi cell' committing assaults on foreign workers
2. Explosive materials found in home of one of the suspects
3. The suspects are all immigrants from Russia
4. The eight Russian immigrants are between 16 and 21
5. The arrests followed an 18-month investigation into attacks on 2 synagogues
6. 1 million people from the former Soviet Union have emigrated to Israel since 1990
7. Israel has a population of seven million

Failed Integration

Over one million Russian immigrants have come to Israel from Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. The Jewish Agency assists in the integration of immigrant citizens with Jewish roots through a program known as Operation Promise. Some have attributed the development of neo-Nazism in Israel to a backlash against the integration process.²

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