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The Events in the South Are a Cause for Concern, and the Police Must Respond With Determination

The Events in the South Are a Cause for Concern, and the Police Must Respond With Determination

Ma’ariv, Israel, January 16

The events of the past week in southern Israel – during which young people from the Bedouin community hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police officers and police stations, attacked civilians, and set vehicles on fire – raised serious questions regarding the ability of law enforcement agencies to deter and confront such vandalism. Watching videos such as the one in which a young Bedouin man is openly expressing contempt for the police, the rule of law, and the prime minister, and emphasizing that the Bedouin are not afraid, gives the impression that we’re in a dangerous situation. One shouldn’t point fingers and criticize the Bedouin community as a whole. Yet such incidents cannot be tolerated. The police must be a force used for authority and deterrence; not a lax entity that succumbs to the pressures of one power group or another. When ordinary citizens need to use WhatsApp groups to find out which roads are safest to take as they travel throughout their county, it’s clear that we’ve reached a breaking point. I listened to the police commander who oversees the Southern District and I could sense his integrity and honesty, as well as determination to avoid any expression of weakness. He promised to stop and arrest all rioters. He wasn’t afraid to criticize the Bedouin leadership for its faint response. He blamed former MK Talab El-Sana and claimed he had brought protesters from the North and stirred up the atmosphere with Palestinian flags. Taking responsibility is an important part of the ability to lead, but there is a big but: Words aren’t enough. The actions on the ground present a different picture to the one painted by the police. Is anyone in the police afraid of the Bedouin community’s reaction and therefore refrains from using an iron fist? Is anyone, perhaps in the leadership of the state, preventing a more forceful action by the police – one that will restore governance? One thing is indisputable: It is impossible for citizens to be afraid to live in their own country. No territory should become a Wild West. If the police are incapable of maintaining public order in the South, then every Israeli citizen should be worried, regardless of where they live. –Alon Hachmon (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)

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