The Islamic
movement in Israel, whose history dates from the 1980s, has come to public
attention lately due to two major events: The Islamist takeover of the
Nazareth city council, which has provided backing to the illicit intrusion
of the Muslims in Nazareth into the plaza of the Church of Annunciation,
and their attempt to erect a large mosque on the plaza; and the two car
bombs that exploded in September 1999 in Tiberias and Haifa, which were
found to have been perpetrated by members of the Islamic movement of
Israel. These two events seem to be related inasmuch as the ideological
underpinnings of the Islamic movement to a great extent delegitimize
Israel and teach contempt of Jews. In consequence, the Islamic movement
has created enclaves of its own in Israel where it can enforce its Islamic
laws. In the past three years, the split between the activists, who
wanted everything now, and the more moderates who have advised against
boycotting the state institutions, has found its expression in a schism:
the northern Islamic movement, which continues to breed violence against
Israel, and the southern branch, which advertises more moderation.
What will
happen next depends in no small measure upon what the Israeli government
does in its attempt to check the growth of the Islamic movement.