Police blamed as Israeli Arabs protest violence
WITH A wave of deadly violence and criminal killings 25 per cent higher than in previous years, Israel’s minority Arab community has taken to the streets to protest.
Thousands blocked roads and staged sit-ins earlier this month to demonstrate against the government and police.
But the demonstrations come at a team of high Arab political power. After a frenzied campaign, the Joint List alliance of MKs won 13 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, becoming the third largest party. One of its major priorities to combat violence in Arab communities.
Some Jewish Israelis contend Arab activists are blaming the authorities for the conduct of their own community. Gilad Erdan, the minister in charge of Israel’s police force, appeared to voice this argument last Monday.
“It’s a very, very — and another thousand times — very violent society,” he said. “It’s connected to the culture there. A lot of disputes that end with a lawsuit, there they pull out a knife and gun.” But Arab community leaders say there is good reason to blame the Israeli government and police.
The Abraham Initiatives, an organisation that promotes coexistence, reports that crime and violence in Arab society have increased to “unprecedented levels” in recent years, with one in every two violent crimes in the country involving Arabs. This is despite the fact that only 20 per cent of Israelis are Arabs.
Thabet Abu Rass, a director at the organisation, believes that Arabs are suffering as a result of under-policing, with officers failing to meet expectations in terms of collecting illegal firearms and fighting drug culture.
Organised crime crosses Arab-Jewish lines, he said. In an often-fractured state, crime is a sector where JewishArab cooperation is booming.
Mr Rass commented dryly: “Unfortunately, cooperation between Arabs and Jews is strong in the area of crime, including weapons, and drugs.”
Far-reaching action is now needed, he added. “We are asking for a strategic plan that’s not only involves the police. We need to try to uproot the causes.”
These include under-investment in Arab areas, which leads to weaker communities that are more susceptible to crime, he said.
Some of the demonstrators go further than Mr Abu Rass in their criticism of the state.
“Two of my cousins were killed last week and the person who killed them is still free,” said one demonstrator last Monday, Raya Munaa.
“Are you really telling me that with all of Mossad’s abilities and technology, law enforcement can’t catch him?”
The killing of her cousins and another man in a brawl in the Galilee town of Majd al-Krum was the final straw for an Israeli Arab community, prompting the demonstrations.
She does not just believe that law enforcement does not do its best when it comes to Arab communities; says it is an intentional conspiracy.
“People who are on drugs are not going to worry about rights and politics and protests,” she said. “It’s the best way to control us as a population.”
Moderate activists like Mr Abu Rass reject that assessment, as do the authorities. But with at least three further protests planned for later in October, it is a claim that is likely to gain growing traction in Israel’s Arab communities.
Some Jewish Israelis say Arabs are to blame for the violence’
Cooperation between Arabs and Jews is strong — in crime