Arab-Israelis Up in Arms over Shootings (AUDIO INTERVIEW)

The Media Line turns to Jafar Farah to learn why there is so much gun violence in Israel’s Arab cities and towns

Over the weekend, there was a shooting incident near the northern Israeli city of Nazareth. It involved a gunman on a motorcycle, and then another in a white sedan who fired upon a crowd that had come outside to see what the first shots were all about. Nine people were wounded, at least two critically.

Israel is awash in weapons issued for military or security use yet in general suffers relatively little in the way of firearms violence, something attributed mostly to strict gun laws. Yet the Nazareth shootings are emblematic of a serious problem in Arab towns and cities, with local residents blaming police for turning a blind eye.

To gain some insight into the issue, The Media Line spoke with Jafar Farah, founder and director of the Haifa-based Mossawa Center, an advocacy group working on behalf of Palestinian-Arab citizens of Israel.