With No End in Sight, Israeli Gov’t Blamed for Spiraling Violence in Arab Sector

As right-wing government moves to loosen gun control, violent crime in the Arab community approaches record highs

Violence in Israel is raging. Since the beginning of the year, more than 70 Arab citizens have been killed in the country in a variety of incidents, ranging from domestic violence to gang wars. Innocent children have also been caught in the crossfire, paying with their lives. Just yesterday, a 24-year-old Arab woman was shot outside her home in Haifa.

One of the election promises of parties in the current government was to rein in crime levels and bring back the governance that they claim has eroded over recent years.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appointed hard-liner Itamar Ben-Gvir as national security minister. Ben-Gvir, a political novice, made frequent public promises to restore Israelis’ feeling of personal safety. Now, perhaps realizing the limitations of his power, he is discovering that some things are easier said than done.

Ben-Gvir has changed the discourse. He has made a civilian issue into a national issue, saying he is protecting the Jews who need defense from the Arabs, saying they are all terrorists.

The Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir government is Israel’s most far-right government ever. While some of its supporters have voiced their frustration that the coalition is not exercising its mandate in being tough enough, many opponents say the political atmosphere makes room for more violence.

“Ben-Gvir has changed the discourse,” said Thabet Abu Rass, co-director of The Abraham Initiatives, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that promotes Jewish-Arab coexistence. “He has made a civilian issue into a national issue, saying he is protecting the Jews who need defense from the Arabs, saying they are all terrorists.”

Ben-Gvir is also hoping to enlist the Shin Bet security agency, a body meant to deal with terrorist threats, in his attempt to restore governance. The use of such forces against citizens of the country is highly controversial.

Many of the dead are just numbers on the TV screen with only brief mention in the news. However, a killing on Saturday managed to reach the headlines. Amid an argument on the side of a road in northern Israel, a 32-year-old Israeli man, Denis Mokin, allegedly pulled out a weapon and lethally shot Diar Omari. The victim, from the village of Sandala, was 19 years old at the time of his death.

“This was a cold-blooded murder, with the backing of the prime minister and Ben-Gvir,” said Abed el Salem Omari, head of the Sandala local council. “When they encourage people to carry their weapons, this is the result.”

The shooter was brought in front of a court on Sunday in order to be remanded. His lawyer claimed self-defense but a video posted on social media documenting the incident made such a claim questionable.

Another Arab citizen was also killed in a violent incident in the northern city of Acre on Saturday. These two killings finished off yet another deadly week in the country, in which there were over ten homicides.

“The political atmosphere creates more risk,” said Rela Mazali, co-founder and project coordinator of Gun Free Kitchen Tables, an NGO promoting stricter gun control and small arms disarmament. “These events are not new, but the message now is that anything goes, and if you are a Jewish man, you will not be held accountable.”

A 2010 law, passed under a previous Netanyahu government, removed criminal liability from people who discharge a firearm at intruders. For Mazali, this was just one turning point in how Israel treats gun violence.

“Without a gun present, someone like Omari would have likely been alive today. Perhaps battered, but alive,” she said.

According to data collected by The Abraham Initiatives, 73 Arab citizens have been killed since the beginning of the year. The number of cases solved by the police is minuscule, a testament to the low priority given to them, but also to the lack of cooperation of the Arab population with law enforcement. The distrust between both sides and the tendency of the Arab population to solve matters in-house have a major role in this.

“What we are seeing now is the result of years of neglect,” said Ariel Elharar, a media consultant. “It is easiest to blame the current government. We are now seeing violence all over, not only in Arab society. But the lack of governance has been going on for years.”

Our fears are now being realized. Weapons feed violence and such events will only become more frequent.

One of Ben-Gvir’s first orders of business was to loosen gun control laws, allowing more citizens to carry weapons. His aim was to increase the feeling of safety in the country, as a series of terror attacks carried out by Palestinian assailants took the lives of scores of Israelis. Some raised concerns that more guns on the streets would inevitably result in more gun violence.

“Our fears are now being realized,” Mazali said. “Weapons feed violence and such events will only become more frequent.”

But the move was also welcomed by many.

“The same weapon that can kill someone can also save people from a terror attack,” Elharar said. “Someone who wants to kill will find a way, regardless of loosening gun licensing.”

In a highly controversial move last month, the government voted against a law that would allow for electronic monitoring of domestic violence offenders. The bill, initiated by the previous government, was to be passed under the watch of the Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir coalition, but instead, its failure to pass caused an uproar. Ben-Gvir explained that he wanted to protect men from false accusations by proposing a new bill.

In the last year, 24 women were murdered by their partners or ex-partners. According to the Israeli Observatory on Femicide, half of them were Arab women. While most Jewish perpetrators are caught and put on trial, most Arab offenders remain free.

At this point in 2023, numbers are far higher than in previous years. Unless there is a drastic reduction in violence over the coming months, 2023 will become the deadliest year in recent times. At the current rate of deaths from violent crimes, one can project around 209 Arab citizens will have been killed by the end of 2023. In 2022 and 2021, the yearly average was 121, and in the previous three years, it was 85. 

The government claims it is trying to reduce the violence.

“There is legislation underway, but results will take time. There is no magic wand that will make this go away in one day,” Elharar said.

Arab Israeli citizens make up about twenty percent of the population. They face widespread, often institutionalized discrimination. While they have the right to vote, their daily lives are considerably different than the Jewish majority.

Arab cities and villages are markedly neglected, with lagging infrastructure and run-down schools. Arab Israelis have a lower participation rate in the workforce and lower salaries than Jewish Israelis. Often discriminated against in the workforce, they get fewer opportunities and have lower salaries on average. They make up a significant portion of the Israeli medical field and academia, but they are largely kept out of other professions, often alienated from the political playing field and the media.

All these factors, coupled with the current political environment, appear to be the recipe for growing violence.

The improvement in 2022 was largely a result of efforts made by the previous government led by former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. Massive budgets were allocated and programs were initiated, all geared at lowering crime levels.

“What we saw was an honest and serious effort,” Abu Rass said. “There were good decisions and big budgets. That’s why the numbers went down.”

“There was hope and now there is nothing,” he continued.

The killing in the north that resulted in the death of the Sandala resident also disrupted the delicate balance that exists between Arab and Jewish Israelis. Immediately after the incident, Sandala residents demonstrated in front of their Jewish neighbors in the adjacent Jewish community of Gan Ner.

“All this talk about coexistence is nonsense. Such events distance that reality,” Omari said. “We expected our neighbors to condemn the murder and they didn’t. This is offensive and divisive.”

Israel’s police force has come under a lot of heat in recent months for its lackluster response to escalating crime rates. But for years, it has been under-budgeted and understaffed. It has been hesitant to enter Arab population centers and failed to enforce the law there.

“While the Israel Police has been working around the clock both on the intelligence level in preventing crimes and on the investigative level in solving crimes, the Israel Police also believes that education, awareness, and community relations are paramount to tackling the violence at its origin. That is why our officers are working to build strong relationships with all members of the community, including Israeli Arabs,” read a statement from the Israel Police spokesperson in response to an inquiry by The Media Line.

“The Police treat every incident of violence, regardless of the identity of the suspect or the victim, with great severity … [and is] resolutely committed to upholding public safety and preventing violence,” the statement continued.

Throughout the years, there have been several initiatives meant to tackle the issues plaguing Arab society. Most of the promises were not kept and targets were not met.

The plans of the previous government included increasing police presence in Arab towns and on highways, strengthening intelligence and investigation abilities, increasing law enforcement focused on organized crime, fighting protection rackets, and advancing relevant legislation.

Many of these initiatives have now been shelved and replaced with different ones.

“The state treats the Arabs as ex-territorial, as if we are not an integral part of Israel,” Abu Rass said. “The police are almost nonexistent, and the state and the police are dysfunctional. Many Arabs feel that the police simply don’t care.”

“You don’t rebuild relations by talking, but by action,” said Omari, who spoke alongside thousands of mourners at the funeral of Diar Omari.