Maybe you’ve seen it in comments and posts: images of a dark-skinned soldier pushing a Palestinian, Netanyahu covered in blood, quotes from Ben-Gvir, clips of settler vandalism and violence.
Why? Because it serves two purposes at once. It defames an entire people, and it highlights a version of Israel that contradicts the reality of a moral army and the core values of Judaism. This narrative helps present Palestinians as victims under occupation, earning sympathy, funding, and support from so-called “human rights” organizations.
And those organizations? Too often, they remain silent or even cooperate with terrorists and their supporters.
So what exactly is “Jewish terror”?
It’s a term that gets headlines, dominates social media, and shapes perception. But does it reflect reality?
According to official data from Israeli police, the Shin Bet, the Central Bureau of Statistics, and criminal court rulings:
• Murders of Arabs by Jews: only two cases with confirmed criminal convictions in the past 30 years. The murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir (2014) and the Duma arson attack (2015, three victims).
That’s a total of four Arab victims in three decades.
Now compare that to Arab terrorism נגד Jews:
Shin Bet reports document between 1,200 and 1,400 Jews murdered in terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria and across Israel since 1995. These include shootings, stabbings, bombings, and car-ramming attacks.
During the Second Intifada alone (2000–2005), approximately 1,060 Israelis were killed, most of them Jewish civilians.
This number does not even include the events of October 7, 2023.
What about general crime in Judea and Samaria?
A CBS victimization survey (2016) found that 9.4% of households in the area were affected by property crime. That’s more than double the Jerusalem district (4.1%) and higher than most regions in Israel. But this statistic includes both Jewish and Arab offenders and is not related to interethnic violence.
Shin Bet data on “Jewish terror”:
In 2015, 16 nationalist incidents were recorded, mostly property damage and minor violence. In 2016, only 8 incidents.
There are no reports of more than one fatality per year on average. This is not a “trend,” and it is far from what would reasonably be defined as terrorism.
Murder rates by sector tell a similar story:
The murder rate in the Arab sector stands at 4.9 per 100,000, compared to just 0.67 among Jews (Taub Center, 2019–2023).
In 2024, 220 Arabs were murdered (mostly by other Arabs), compared to 58 Jews.
The numbers speak for themselves:
In 30 years, 4 Arabs were murdered by Jews, compared to over 1,200 Jews murdered by Arabs.
Even if one accepts the figures promoted by B’Tselem, which claim 122 Arabs killed by Jewish civilians, Israel is still nowhere near a reality of “Jewish terror” when compared to Arab terrorism or internal violence within Arab society. It is also worth noting that these figures are often inflated and include cases of self-defense.
In other words, “Jewish terror” is not a trend or a widespread phenomenon. It consists of rare, extreme cases that have been prosecuted with the full severity of Israeli law.
Meanwhile, rising violence and crime rates in parts of the Muslim world, and in Western countries experiencing increased Muslim immigration, raise far more pressing concerns.
Don’t be mistaken: the battle over a false narrative is already happening. It dominates public discourse, media, and social networks, echoing the messaging of Israel’s enemies.
One of the most damaging mistakes, even among Israel’s own supporters, is the reluctance to use accurate language. Avoiding the historical name “Judea and Samaria,” or repeating false terms like “apartheid” and “genocide,” only reinforces a distorted narrative.
Words matter. And repeating propaganda does the enemy’s work for them.
CBS News. (2016, February 4). 2 Israelis sentenced for murder of Palestinian teen Mohammed Abu Khdeir. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/.../israel-sentences-killers.../
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