By Joe Langabeer
Louis Theroux is a hugely popular documentary maker who has been producing work with the BBC for decades and he has just released a new film on BBC i-Player, The Settlers, focusing on ultra-nationalist Jews in Israel. The documentary examines those organising settlements in the West Bank, in an effort—according to their own vision—to establish a new ‘Judea’.
This is not the first time Theroux has explored the topic; he previously covered the rise of the ultra-nationalist movement 14 years ago, a film which is also still available. Of course, the context has since changed with the continuing genocide Israel are enacting in Gaza, and a huge upsurge in land-grabs and attacks by Jewish settlers on Arabs in the West Bank, resulting in 40,000 internally displaced Palestinians.
While Theroux is often seen as a neutral presence in his interviews—rarely confrontational and usually avoids overt bias—it is clear that this latest documentary is aimed to expose the twisted ideology underpinning the ultra-nationalist settler movement. As Theroux points out often in this documentary, this ideology has now moved from the fringes to become part of the political mainstream, to the extent that the leader of the settlers’ party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is Minister of National Security. After the October 7 Hamas incursion into Israel, Ben-Gvir, who is himself a settler, ensured that thousands of assault rifles were distributed to settlers.
Partying to plan further settlement expansion
The documentary opens with Theroux arriving at what he describes as a ‘jamboree’ in the West Bank, where attendees rally and plan for the expansion of Jewish outposts across the region – which means at the expense of Arab land. It is one of the few such events in the West Bank that the media have been permitted to attend, with workshops and seminars, offering practical advice on how to carry out settlement work.
We are then introduced Ben Gvir. He has long been known for his staunchly racist views towards Arabs population; he is a prominent figure within the Kahanist movement—a hardline ideology that views Arabs as the enemies of the Jewish people and of Israel. This movement advocates the removal of Arabs from the land they occupy, by any means necessary and it supports the creation of a Jewish theocracy, where non-Jews would be stripped of fundamental rights, including the right to vote and access to state support.
This context is important, because Ben Gvir, like most of the ultra-nationalists featured in the documentary is rooted in this ideology and harbours a deep-seated racist hostility towards the Arab population. That does not mean that other ministers, or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself, hold views very much different – after all, they have presided over the greatest genocide in the Middle East in generations in Gaza – but the movement around Ben Gvir, Minister for National Security, is boastfully open about its racism.
The foundational doctrine of Israel, Zionism, has always been based on the idea that Palestine should belong exclusively to the Jewish people, excluding the indigenous Arab population from that claim. In that sense, the current government, while it is the most right wing in the three quarters of a century of Israel’s existence, is only the natural, logical progression of colonial-setter Zionism.
‘extreme’ opinions and views are now normalised
What stands out in this TV programme is that what was once considered ‘extreme’ has now become normalised, not only within a large part of Israeli politics, but even in supposed ‘liberal’ sections of the western media. Indeed, what makes this BBC production stand out is that it stands in such stark contrast to the BBC’s disgraceful bias: in reporting, language and in tone, to the benefit of Israel and at the expense of Palestinian rights.
What is a much more open expression of out-and-out racist ideology sets this new documentary apart from the one Theroux made 14 years ago. While the earlier film focused on fringe figures, it was often dismissed by critics and reviewers at the time for giving undue attention to what they perceived as ‘marginal’ voices. Now, however, the talking points of those same extremists have become central to the Israeli government’s message—broadcast not only to the Israeli public, but to the wider world.
It is not merely a case of the government echoing the settlers’ rhetoric; the settlers themselves claim that the government is actively supporting them. Daniella Weiss, founder of one of the settler movements, makes this abundantly clear in an interview with Theroux. She asserts that the Israeli government is directly backing the re-settlement efforts led by Kahanists.
According to Weiss, Netanyahu is pleased with her movement’s activities, resettling Jewish people at the expense of Palestinians. When Theroux suggests that such actions amount to a ‘war crime’, as they involve transferring a civilian population in a conquered territory, Weiss dismisses that, calling it merely a “light felony”. It is a chilling moment that exposes not only the extremism and blatant disregard by settlers for what passes as international law, but also, by extension, by the Israeli government.
Homes routinely surveilled and raided
Even more disturbing are reports in the Israeli press that Weiss has been allowed by the government to go into Gaza with the IDF to scout for new settlements. No further proof is needed that the longer term aim on the Netanyahu government is to exclude the Arab population from its land.
The Theroux documentary exposes the disgraceful treatment of Arabs who live in the West Bank. Their homes are routinely surveilled and raided, and they are frequently stopped by Israeli forces – all part of a systematic and ongoing programme of harassment designed to push them out. There is no other country on the planet that punishes the family of young, desperate Arabs who attack Jews – by demolishing the whole family home. No other country on the planet has an army equipped with so many bulldozers and trained, not so much for warfare, as for ethnic cleansing.
The IDF shows its hostility primarily towards Arabs, but it displays the same cowardly bullying attitude to unarmed Arab Christians, to reporters, to human rights observers, and indeed to anyone they don’t like. Theroux himself experienced it firsthand: when he attempted to engage in dialogue, he was instead met with intimidation and aggression. These brave boys and girls of the IDF, ever eager to intimidate unarmed women and children, cover their faces as they do it.
In this documentary the IDF come across as an armed and open ideological arm of the government, unafraid to express the ideology even when facing international media. There is not even a pretence of ‘neutrality’ in this army, even when they are on TV, on the world stage.
Banned from walking on certain roads
As well as speaking to Jewish settlers, Theroux also speaks to Issa Amro, a Palestinian activist living in the West Bank. We learn that Amro has been banned from walking on certain roads and entering areas where the IDF has its strongest presence. The IDF offer no explanation to Theroux as to why Palestinians are barred from these zones, but are happy to insist that filming is not allowed and that Theroux’s crew should leave. In this area, shops are shuttered, Palestinian homes are sealed off, residents are told to stay inside, and propaganda posters are plastered in the area urging Israeli businesses not to employ Palestinian workers.
Communities at risk of being uprooted and erased
As Amro explains, these ‘restricted zones’ are steadily expanding. In his view, the goal is to make life so intolerable for Palestinians that they are eventually forced to leave. With businesses closed and access to essential services denied, people are unable to make a living, and displacement becomes inevitable. Amro and others live under constant fear and intimidation. Since the invasion and ongoing genocide in Gaza, Palestinians who have built lives and communities are at risk of being entirely uprooted and erased.
In the final interview, Theroux returns to Daniella Weiss and questions her about the violence and deaths resulting from settler activity, now taking place with apparent government support. By this point, Weiss appears increasingly unhinged, simultaneously denying the violence, while at the same time claiming it is provocation by Palestinians.
Theroux visibly doubts her narrative and challenges her on her repeated statements that she supports the exclusion of Palestinians. He even goes so far as to suggest that her views appear sociopathic, particularly in her apparent indifference to the suffering of Palestinian children, all for the sake of expanding settlements. Weiss gives no real response – and, as the film makes clear, she no longer needs to. She has the full backing of the government and no longer needs to justify her actions or beliefs.
In the epilogue, Theroux offers a quiet but powerful reflection on the atrocities unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank. He notes that the settlers are emboldened by state support and feel accountable only to God. He is right in this – there is no meaningful accountability left.
Western politicians begin to criticize Israel – but still provide arms
While organisations like the UN may issue reprimands, and international criminal courts pursue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his cabinet, Israeli military forces continue to receive weapons and aid from Western allies. Even Starmer – at long last and after 55,000 deaths – has openly condemned Israeli policy on Gaza, but he has not stopped weapons sales. Western governments not only enable ongoing atrocities in Gaza, but, by implication, they have supported the settlers’ broader aim, which is the total removal of all Arabs from their land.
Theroux has created an extraordinary documentary, repeatedly making the point that the settlers’ rhetoric is no longer fringe – it now lies at the heart of Israeli government policy. Yet the film stops short of addressing how this has been allowed to happen, or what might be done to stop it.
That is perhaps to be expected, given Theroux’s ‘neutral’ style. But still, when confronted with the stark realities of Israeli oppression – realities we now witness daily through news reports and viral videos of Palestinian suffering, particularly among children – it is hard to justify a journalist remaining ‘neutral’ facing these truths.
What we are witnessing in Gaza is genocide. Jewish settlers, supported by members of the government want to use the same level of suppression on Palestinians on the West Bank. It is a racist campaign, founding on a racist ideology.
Israel has so isolated itself that it has become a pariah state to hundreds of millions. But if there is still anyone who defends Israeli policy, they should watch this documentary to see the truth of what is being done.
The programme is available on BBC i-player, here
