Daniella Weiss

{{Short description|Israeli Orthodox Zionist settler (born 1945)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Daniella Weiss

| native_name = {{No bold|דניאלה וייס}}

| native_name_lang = he

| image = Daniella Weiss (cropped).jpg

| caption = Weiss in 2016

| title = Mayor of Kedumim

| term_start = September 1996

| term_end = 2007

| predecessor = Yosef Kapakh

| successor = {{Ill|Hananel Dorani|he|חננאל דורני}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|08|30|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Bnei Brak, Mandatory Palestine

| nickname = "Godmother of Israeli settler movements"

{{Infobox person

| embed = yes

| alma_mater = Bar-Ilan University

| organization = Nachala

| spouse = Amnon Weiss

| children = 2

}}

Daniella Weiss ({{Langx|he|דניאלה וייס}}; born 30 August 1945) is an Israeli far-right Orthodox Zionist, founder of Nachala, an Israeli settler organization,{{cite news |last1=Sharon |first1=Jeremy |date=20 July 2022 |title=Thousands of settler activists create mayhem in West Bank campaign |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-of-activists-create-mayhem-but-no-new-outposts-in-west-bank-campaign/ |access-date=6 December 2023 |work=Times of Israel}} and a former mayor of Kedumim, an illegal Israeli settlement located in the West Bank. She was first elected mayor of Kedumim in September 1996, and was re-elected for a second term in November 2001 through 2007.{{cite web |date=9 August 2015 |title=Rivlin too minor to assassinate, says far-right activist |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/rivlin-too-minor-to-assassinate-says-far-right-activist/ |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=The Times of Israel |publisher= |archive-date=13 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113033343/https://www.timesofisrael.com/rivlin-too-minor-to-assassinate-says-far-right-activist/ |url-status=live }} Weiss' organization, Nachala, has been involved in at least one killing.{{Cite web |last=Sharon |first=Jeremy |date=14 July 2022 |title=Settler group openly planning establishment of 3 illegal outposts next week |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/settler-group-openly-planning-establishment-of-3-illegal-outposts-next-week/ |access-date=March 21, 2024 |website=The Times of Israel |archive-date=5 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105165849/https://www.timesofisrael.com/settler-group-openly-planning-establishment-of-3-illegal-outposts-next-week/ |url-status=live }}{{Relevance inline|date=June 2025}} She was sanctioned by Canada in June 2024 for violence against civilians in the West Bank and by the United Kingdom in May 2025.

Early life

Daniella Weiss was born in Bnei Brak, Mandatory Palestine, in 1945. Her father was from the United States and her mother was born in Poland and raised in Palestine since her first year of life.{{cite magazine |last1=Chotiner |first1=Isaac |date=November 11, 2023 |title=The Extreme Ambitions of West Bank Settlers |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-extreme-ambitions-of-west-bank-settlers |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=November 12, 2023 |archive-date=November 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112215424/https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-extreme-ambitions-of-west-bank-settlers |url-status=live }} Both Jewish immigrants, they were members of Lehi, a Zionist paramilitary terrorist{{cite journal |author=Calder Walton |title=British Intelligence and the Mandate of Palestine: Threats to British national security immediately after the Second World War |journal=Intelligence and National Security |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=435–462 |doi=10.1080/02684520802293049 |year=2008|s2cid=154775965 | issn = 0268-4527}}Jean E. Rosenfeld, [https://books.google.com/books?id=gM-sAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA161 Terrorism, Identity, and Legitimacy: The Four Waves Theory and Political Violence], 2010 p. 161 n. 7: 'Lehi ... was the last group to identify itself as a terrorist one' organization, and took part in underground activities. She attended a religious high school in Ramat Gan, and studied as part of the Atuda program.{{Cite web |date=29 November 2007 |title=בשבע 269: יוצאת אל הגבעות |url=https://www.inn.co.il/news/561356 |access-date=22 March 2024 |website=Israel National News |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408232556/https://www.inn.co.il/news/561356 |url-status=live }} She studied English literature and philosophy at Bar-Ilan University.{{Cite news |date=2007-06-05 |title=Daniella Weiss |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/05/israel5 |access-date=2024-03-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=2017-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519182926/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/05/israel5 |url-status=live }}

Career

Since the 1970s, Weiss has been a notable figure in the Gush Emunim settlement movement, active in the establishment of many new settlements in the West Bank.{{Cite web |title=Kedumim.org |url=http://www.kedumim.org.il/English/muni/Daniella.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001182746/http://www.kedumim.org.il/English/muni/Daniella.htm |archivedate=October 1, 2009}}

Weiss became the secretary-general of Gush Emunim. In May 1987, after Ofra Moses, a Jewish settler, was killed in a Palestinian firebomb attack, Weiss led a vigilante group on a shooting and rock-throwing rampage through the Palestinian town of Qalqiliya.{{cite book |last= Benvenisti |first= Meron |author-link= Meron Benvenisti |title=The West Bank Data Base 1987 Report: Demographic, Economic, Legal, Social And Political Developments In The West Bank |year= 2019 |publisher= Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-61257-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2GlDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Daniella+Weiss%22+1987&pg=PP66}} She was sentenced to a 2500 shekel fine and a six-month suspended sentence.{{cite web |last= Magid |first= Jacob |title= In the land of the forefathers, some female settlers challenge the patriarchy |work= The Times of Israel |date= 19 October 2018 |url= https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-the-land-of-the-forefathers-female-settlers-challenge-the-patriarchy/ |access-date= 5 January 2025 |archive-date= 5 January 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250105200726/https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-the-land-of-the-forefathers-female-settlers-challenge-the-patriarchy/ |url-status= live }}

Weiss served as the mayor of Kedumim between 1996 and 2007. In 2010, she founded the Nachala Settlement Movement,{{Cite news |last=Klein |first=Yossi |date=2017-06-16 |title=Arab-Free Theocracy: Veteran Settler Offers Rare Glimpse into Religious-Zionist Vision for Israel |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2017-06-16/ty-article-magazine/.premium/veteran-settler-offers-glimpse-into-religious-zionist-vision-for-israel/0000017f-f583-d460-afff-ffe739310000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220723051717/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2017-06-16/ty-article-magazine/.premium/veteran-settler-offers-glimpse-into-religious-zionist-vision-for-israel/0000017f-f583-d460-afff-ffe739310000 |archive-date=23 July 2022 |access-date=2024-03-21 |work=Haaretz |language=en |quote=Seven years ago she founded an organization called Nahala. Nahala helps young people settle in what she calls "new outposts" and we call "illegal outposts" and the government calls "unrecognized settlements."}} which aims to establish new illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. She serves as its director.{{Cite web |last=Kempinski |first=Yoni |date=March 27, 2023 |title=Daniella Weiss: 'There's no sufficient reason to stop the reforms' |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/369278 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603221817/https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/369278 |archive-date=2023-06-03 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=7 Israel National News}}

In early 2023, Weiss appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to stop the judicial reform program in response to protests, claiming that the Israeli Supreme Court was attempting to eradicate the national and Jewish element of Israel and needed to be stopped.

In November 2024, during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Weiss was allowed to survey potential settlement sites in North Gaza, including Netzarim, by IDF soldiers in contravention of orders barring civilians and requiring entries to be logged. Weiss stated that she had organized hundreds of settlers ready to imminently enter, making it difficult for the authorities to expel them. After a report by KAN News, the IDF announced that it was investigating the incident.{{Cite news |date=22 November 2024 |title=Troops smuggled settler leader into Gaza to survey settlement options – report |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/troops-smuggled-settler-leader-into-gaza-to-survey-settlement-options-report/ |access-date=22 November 2024 |work=The Times of Israel |archive-date=22 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241122220126/https://www.timesofisrael.com/troops-smuggled-settler-leader-into-gaza-to-survey-settlement-options-report/ |url-status=live }}

In March 2025, Weiss was nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, submitted by Israeli professors, Amos Azaria and Shalom Sadik of Ariel University and Ben-Gurion University. They stated that she contributed to “decades-long efforts in strengthening Jewish communities and promoting regional stability.” This nomination has caused widespread condemnation by social media users.{{cite news|title= Israelis nominate radical settler leader Daniella Weiss for Nobel Peace Prize|url= https://www.newarab.com/news/israelis-nominate-radical-settler-daniella-weiss-nobel-prize|website= The New Arab|access-date= 10 March 2025|archive-date= 10 March 2025|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250310175939/https://www.newarab.com/news/israelis-nominate-radical-settler-daniella-weiss-nobel-prize|url-status= live}}{{cite news|title= Leader of the Israeli Settler Movements Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize |url= https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2025/03/182611/leader-of-the-israeli-settler-movements-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize/|website=Moroccan World News|access-date=11 March 2025}}{{cite news|title= Israelis' nomination of extremist settler leader for Nobel Peace Prize sparks online furor|url= https://www.arabnews.com/node/2593255/amp|work= Arab News|access-date= 11 March 2025|archive-date= 30 April 2025|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250430020839/https://www.arabnews.com/node/2593255/amp|url-status= live}}

Views

File:Daniella Weiss.jpg

Weiss spoke out against a rabbi claiming that a woman cannot run for secretary of a Yishuv as the mixture of men and women would be inappropriate, and should instead influence change through their husbands. Weiss highlighted how there had been prior female Jewish prophets and those that had held significant positions in Jewish history.{{Cite news |last=גרוסמן |first=שמוליק |date=2010-05-23 |title=הרב לבנון: אישה לא יכולה לרוץ למזכירות יישוב |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3892871,00.html |access-date=2024-03-22 |work=Ynet |language=he |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417142046/https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3892871,00.html |url-status=live }}

Weiss rejects the price tag policy, saying that it had diverted settlers from what she considered to be their most important task - setting up additional caravans and tents to lay claim to ever more hilltops in the "Shomron" (the West Bank).{{Cite news |last=Hider |first=James |date=15 October 2009 |title=West Bank settlers use 'price tag' tactic to punish Palestinians |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/west-bank-settlers-use-price-tag-tactic-to-punish-palestinians-0rcq7h5z7j3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211011193025/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/west-bank-settlers-use-price-tag-tactic-to-punish-palestinians-0rcq7h5z7j3 |archive-date=11 October 2021 |access-date=2024-03-21 |work=The Times |language=en |issn=0140-0460}} She has stated that the only "price tag" action acceptable to her is the establishment of a new outpost in response to every outpost that had been demolished by Israeli authorities.{{cite news |author=Nadav Shragai |date=October 4, 2008 |script-title=he:דניאלה וייס: השב"כ מעורב בהנחת המטען בבית שטרנהל |trans-title=Daniella Weiss: Shin Bet involved in laying cargo at Beit Sternhell |url=http://www.haaretz.co.il/misc/1.1352766 |accessdate=August 14, 2014 |newspaper=Haaretz |language=he |archive-date=September 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906222332/http://www.haaretz.co.il/misc/1.1352766 |url-status=live }}

In a 2023 interview with The New Yorker, Weiss said that Arabs "lost their right to vote for the Knesset. They will never get this right", and when asked how she felt about the deaths of Palestinian children, replied that "[m]y children are prior to the children of the enemy, period." Weiss made the statement of what drives the Israeli push to settle Palestinian land: "In Israel, there's a lot of support for settlements, and this is why there have been right-wing governments for so many years. The world, especially the United States, thinks there is an option for a Palestinian state, and, if we continue to build communities, then we block the option for a Palestinian state. We want to close the option for a Palestinian state, and the world wants to leave the option open. It's a very simple thing to understand."

She reiterated her beliefs in a 2024 interview with CNN, stating that she believed that there will be "No Arab, I'm speaking about more than two million Arabs. They will not stay there... We Jews will be in Gaza." When questioned if that sounded like ethnic cleansing to her, Weiss responded that "The Arabs want to annihilate the state of Israel so you can call them monsters. You can call them cleansing of Jews. We are not doing to them; they are doing to us."{{Cite web |author=Clarissa Ward |author2=Brent Swails |author3=Scott McWhinnie |author4=Benjamin Brown |date=2024-03-20 |title=The grandmother who wants to lead Israelis back to a Gaza without Palestinians |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/20/middleeast/israel-gaza-settlers-daniella-weiss/index.html |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=2024-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321024049/https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/20/middleeast/israel-gaza-settlers-daniella-weiss/index.html |url-status=live }} She also told the Financial Times, "All the Arabs will be out of Gaza and Gaza will be a Jewish area. Let them go to Africa, Turkey or Scotland. When they're not so condensed in one place, maybe they'll be better."{{Cite web |last=Ivanova |first=Polina |date=March 20, 2024 |title=The Israeli settlers shrugging off sanctions to menace the West Bank |url=https://www.ft.com/content/8a6a3e01-0f92-4541-9b90-c19e6fd030d4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240321021809/https://www.ft.com/content/8a6a3e01-0f92-4541-9b90-c19e6fd030d4 |archive-date=2024-03-21 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Financial Times}}

Legal issues

In January 1989, after the murder of a taxi driver at the Yakir Junction in the West Bank, the intersection was declared a closed military area to prevent activists from protesting. Weiss and others violated the order and entered the area to protest. She was convicted in December 1993 of entering a closed military area and fined as part of a plea deal.{{Cite web |title=שמעון אדרי ז''ל |url=https://laad.btl.gov.il/Web/He/TerrorVictims/Page/Default.aspx?ID=35087&fbrefresh=1 |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=laad.btl.gov.il |language=he}}{{Cite news |last=Broida |first=Haim |date=December 15, 1993 |title=Daniela Weiss was convicted of entering a closed area |work=Yedioth Ahronoth}}

In June 2007, Weiss was charged with obstructing a police officer in the line of duty and assaulting a police officer. She was sentenced to 5 months probation.{{cite web|title=D 3203/05 State of Israel vs. Daniela Weiss|url=http://info1.court.gov.il/Prod03/ManamHTML4.nsf/9D715DEE66895A4B422572F8005CDF71/$FILE/9BB06DB6FA9B0972422572B4003E893B.html?OpenElement|website=court.gov.il|date=June 12, 2007}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

On October 3, 2008, she was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer, interfering with a police investigation, and hindering a police officer in the performance of his duty. She was released from house arrest pending trial on October 6, 2008.{{cite web |first1=Dan |last1=Izenberg |first2=Yaakov |last2=Lappin |first3=Tovah |last3=Lazaroff |date=October 6, 2008 |title=Daniella Weiss released from house arrest pending trial |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Daniella-Weiss-released-from-house-arrest-pending-trial |accessdate=31 July 2016 |work=Jerusalem Post |archive-date=19 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819051318/http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Daniella-Weiss-released-from-house-arrest-pending-trial |url-status=live }}

In December 2008, Weiss was arrested in Hebron along with about 11 other activists by police on the suspicion that they would march towards the Gaza Strip and the prior Gush Katif settlement. Weiss and the others were ordered to be released by the court, who claimed the arrests showed the arrival of dark days in Israel.{{cite news |author=Tovah Lazaroff |author2=Shelley Paz |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Sneh-to-Barak-Jail-Daniella-Weiss |title=Sneh to Barak: Jail Daniella Weiss |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=December 8, 2008 |accessdate=October 26, 2014 |archive-date=October 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026214712/http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Sneh-to-Barak-Jail-Daniella-Weiss |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=12 April 2009 |title=דניאלה וייס נעצרה בשדרות |url=https://www.inn.co.il/news/187917 |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=Israel National News |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417134252/https://www.inn.co.il/news/187917 |url-status=live }}

In May 2009, Israeli police followed a vehicle potentially containing arsonists, and found it abandoned in front of Weiss's home. Weiss came out and began to touch the vehicle multiple times, and lay under another parked car when officers attempted to arrest her for obstruction. When she was removed from under the vehicle, she began to kick and hit the officer, causing Weiss to be arrested for assaulting a police officer and obstruction of an investigation. She was sentenced to two days under house arrest.{{Cite news |last=בן-צור |first=רענן |date=2008-10-03 |title=דניאלה וייס מואשמת בתקיפת שוטר |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3604810,00.html |access-date=2024-03-22 |work=Ynet |language=he |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417101241/https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3604810,00.html |url-status=live }}

In June 2024, Canada imposed sanctions on Weiss and the Amana movement "for their role in facilitating, supporting or financially contributing to acts of violence ... against Palestinian civilians and their property".{{cite web |last1=Tibon |first1=Amir |last2=Peleg |first2=Bar |last3=Breiner |first3=Josh |date=June 27, 2024 |title=Canada Imposes Sanctions on Prominent Israeli Settler Leaders, Organizations in West Bank |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-06-27/ty-article/.premium/canada-imposes-sanctions-on-prominent-israeli-settler-leaders-organizations-in-west-bank/00000190-5ac4-d63a-a7b2-5fdf96230000 |access-date=June 28, 2024 |website=Haaretz |publisher=}}

In May 2025, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Weiss, as well as the Nachala movement for being involved in "threatening, perpetrating, promoting and supporting, acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian individuals".{{cite web |last=Bennett |first=Tom |date=May 20, 2025 |title=UK sanctions 'godmother' of Israel's settler movement Daniella Weiss|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7066e7z9k4o|access-date=May 20, 2025 |website=BBC News |publisher=}}

Personal life

Weiss is married to Amnon Weiss. She and her husband have two daughters. In 2002, the husband and in-laws of one of Weiss's daughters were among those killed during an attack in the Elon Moreh settlement in the West Bank. Weiss's daughter and grandchild survived the attack by hiding under a table and running from the home.{{Cite web |title=Untitled Document |url=https://www.gal-ed.co.il/gavish/daniala.html |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=www.gal-ed.co.il |archive-date=2024-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212115442/https://www.gal-ed.co.il/gavish/daniala.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=ניצולות הפיגוע באלון מורה התחבאו מתחת לשולחן בסלון |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-1798852,00.html |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=ynet |language=he |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417142044/https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-1798852,00.html |url-status=live }}

Weiss and her husband own a large amount of real-estate in Tel Aviv and the West Bank, such as a building in Madinah Square and a factory to produce gold jewelry. In 2010, it was announced that a building she owned on Bialik Street in Tel Aviv was to be demolished, causing a dispute regarding the preservation of buildings in the area.{{Cite news |last=ליכטמן |first=משה |date=2010-12-23 |title=דניאלה וייס מתכוונת להרוס את מבנה קפה ביאליק בת"א |url=https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000610719 |access-date=2024-03-22 |work=Globes |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417134251/https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000610719 |url-status=live }} She lives in Kedumim.