Arab Racism Indide Israel: Israeli Arabs rampage, shout "kill the jews" - "Idbach al-Yahud"

Submitted by Laura (United States), May 12, 2021 at 07:20

https://www.maariv.co.il/news/israel/Article-839957

"This Is Not How One Behaves Among Neighbours." In the mixed-polulation cities, there are reports of damage to the fabric of life.

Against the background of the escalation in the south and the riots in Jerusalem, which led to riots by Israeli Arabs in the country, residents of cities that are currently living peacefully alongside their Arab neighbors, talk about the damage to the delicate fabric of relations

Sigal Ben David 12/05/2021 12:02

[ Tags: Israeli Arabs / escalation in the south]

Erez Bar, a resident of the Jezreel Valley, returned from his work in Carmiel on the same routine route on Tuesday. This time, however, dozens of young Arabs stood on the road to the village of Manda, huddled around his vehicle. "I saw death," he recalls.

"Their eyes caught fire and as soon as they recognized that I was Jewish, a lot of people immediately gathered around the vehicle and started nagging and pushing, cursing and shouting 'Itbah al-Yahud.' [Kill the j..s] I realized I was in danger and ran scripts and said to myself: 'What a mistake, how did I get here?' "At the same time, I tried to control the situation. They surrounded me and tried to open the door. I could not drive back or forth. I thought I would be lynched in a moment."

What did you do?
"I opened the window a little and said gently and firmly: 'Guys, calm down, what's wrong with you? Do not do nonsense, that there will be no disaster here. In response they started screaming and kicking me in the car and tried to break it. I did not give up and told them:' You work with me in the fields "All the years. This is not how neighbors behave." There was a turnaround here. Three people came and asked where I was from.

He added: "I gave them respect but with a combination of assertiveness. If I was defiant or showed weakness, it would probably have ended differently. They signaled to let me go and noted: 'Tell your friends not to mess with Arabs.' I was miraculously saved. There is ferment here by officials "Religious combined with art. But I have no other country. I will not work with them and I will not buy from them, and I am already applying for a weapon following the difficult experience."

Riots in Haifa (Photo: Israel Police Spokeswoman)

The Temple Mount riots in Jerusalem and the escalation in the south also spilled over to Arab and mixed localities in most parts of the country: Dozens and sometimes hundreds of rioters took to the streets in Haifa, the Galilee, Kfar Tavor, Tzipori Junction, Tarshiha, Kfar Manda, Ilut, Benahaf, Shibli, Nazareth, Kfar Kanna, Taibe, Tamra , In Wadi Ara, Lod, Ramla, Carmiel and more. In places where Jews and Arabs live together quietly in the days when they are repairing, there is now a fear of a material damage to the fabric of the common relationship.

"We had a night of horror that reminded me of Kristallnacht," said Hadar Miller, a 12-year-old resident of Lod. "It's hard for me to see how we move on to the agenda. Everyone is traumatized right now, trying to catch their breath. I don't know if there is anyone to talk to. "I have complete distrust and that was not the case. I love the city very much and there are good and warm people here, but that is no longer what it was. After this night, it is a breach of trust."

Miller recounts a wonderful neighborhood relationship with the city's Arab residents, which one night turned into a nightmare. "There was an attempt to break into houses, throw Molotov cocktails into the yards, set fire to a central square, throw stones at houses and people," she describes.

"All night there were shots and there was a smell of smoke. We set off alarms and waited for the police who did not arrive for 45 minutes of fear of death and danger to human life. I am very surprised and disappointed by the response of the police who did not arrive in time to save our lives. I am disappointed there is no deterrence."

In Lod, among other places, the rioters burned a synagogue, destroyed a pre-military preparatory school and destroyed a new museum that had just been established. The streets looked like a battlefield. "I'm disappointed with my neighbors and want to hope it's a handful and not everyone," Miller says. "There is a need for severe hand punishment for both sectors. Because when there is no deterrence, the Arab sector also suffers from violence. Such a thing must never happen again. People who shut themselves in the heart of the country in fear and apprehension because of a handful of rioters - this is unacceptable."

 [Vehicle set on fire in Lod after riots (Photo: Yossi Aloni, Flash 90)

"They want to kill us," says Joel Frankburg, a Lod resident who found himself fleeing on Tuesday when a crowd of rioters chased him down the street. "Dozens of enthusiastic young people ran amok to us with rocks, masked, and threw Molotov cocktails at us. The one who pays the price is us, a non-violent productive community that only wanted to protect its home. We have to make sure the criminals pay, otherwise there is no calm. We are not looking for revenge. Just to live our lives in a peaceful and safe way. "

How do you see the relationship in the future?
"I do not know what our relationship will look like in the future, but it mainly depends on them and what they will choose to do. Whether they choose quietly and peacefully or not. What is clear is, we will snore all the trade with them."

Break the ties
The northern and valley areas are still licking the wounds of the October 2000 riots, which have only begun to heal in recent years. For years, some Jews confiscated shops and services in nearby Arab localities.

Slowly, life returned to normal, and with it the good neighborly relations. Perhaps that is why the events of yesterday greatly surprised the residents of the area. "It was a horrible sight," said Chen Gloverman of Kish.

"A major thoroughfare - Route 65 - was closed for hours. 16-year-olds walked around with masks on their faces and lit everything they could: fields, thorns, road signs. In the vehicles sat frozen and frightened people and only hoped that the police would already arrive. We could not believe our eyes. It could be your butcher, the car wash guy. We live together. What did they think of themselves? And there is no leader - neither with them nor with us - who comes to mediate and remove them home. There was a sparse police presence, two vans with volunteers. It is life threatening and it is the middle of the State of Israel. We've lived here together for years, so why? Just unload. They have no idea where al-Aqsa is, and they certainly do not care about the Gazans. My wife was very frightened. We were in shock. "

A storm broke out in the regional WhatsApp group, and some residents decided to end trade or work relations with residents of the nearby village of Shibli, after years of coexistence. "The street is boiling," says Eran Ibn Shoshan, a resident of Kfar Tavor.

"Obviously it's not everyone, and I guess the head of the council is not happy with it and does not agree with it, but I have decided not to step there anymore. Such a thing has never been. We had good neighborly relations and trade, I would take care of the car there, visit the shops, go to the mechanic, the nursery, but from now on there is no chance that we will step there. It's annoying. It is not acceptable. They are not miserable and depressed. It's not clear what turned them on, but it's unforgivable. I do not understand why they chose extremism. "Palestinian flags are not something that has ever been hung here."

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".