BigMick
Player Valuation: £20m
Excuse the lengthy post, but I don't think this subject has been covered in this thread before.
Earlier this week Khalil Ja’u, 25, was shot by a gunman from a passing vehicle in the northern Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm, just a day after Israel passed the grim landmark of 100 murders this year in the Arab community. Several members of the Ja’u extended family have been killed over the past few years as part of the ongoing violence.
This means that 2021 is on track to be the bloodiest year for the Arab community since a crime wave began several years ago. The murder rate has risen sharply since 2015, when 64 Arab Israelis were killed, in comparison to 38 Jewish Israelis. In 2020, Jewish Israelis saw a similar 42 homicides, while Arab Israelis saw 96 violent deaths.
Many Arab Israelis blame the violence on organised crime, and accuse police of devoting too few resources to root it out in Arab communities. The police, for their part, say they receive little or no help from the community when they are investigating a crime. The violence is abetted by a tide of illegal weaponry. Hundreds of thousands of illegal guns are believed to be held in Israel, many of them in Arab communities. In 2020, there were some 400,000 illegal weapons in Israel. Former public security minister Gilad Erdan estimated that 70% of the illegal weapons were stolen from the Israeli army and police force. Police have sought to crack down on the free-flowing weapons through gun collection programs and arms raids, but seemingly to little avail.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said on Tuesday that “inequality and a disregard for distress” were playing key roles in the crisis of trust between the state and the Arab community. "Criminal and nationalist elements mingled and took to the streets to undermine public order. They fully exposed the severe crisis of trust that has long existed between Arab citizens of Israel and state institutions - a crisis that has grown and continues to grow against a backdrop of continuing inequality. It is urgent that it be dealt with.”
Years of under-funding and state neglect have led to a huge socio-economic gap between Arab and Jewish Israelis. In many Arab communities the roads are terrible, building cramped and crumbling. For an example of the difference between Arab and Jewish neighbourhoods, have a look at the city of Lod on Google maps; even from the air it's easy to tell which is which, and even more obvious on Streetview. That's not to say all Arabs live in poverty - there's a burgeoning middle-class - and in Lod there are areas where the two communities inter-mingle, but there is a large underbelly of society that has been left behind. Such squalid conditions tempt people into joining gangs or other criminal activities because they perceive it as a way to earn easy money and a glamorous lifestyle.
There is no doubt that the tribal clan system also aggravates the situation, creating an atmosphere of almost open warfare between rival families vying for control of cities and communities, and furthering a cycle of violence with revenge attacks spreading out over years. In addition, Arab Israeli society is changing - the traditional authorities - family elders and religious leaders - have been unable to prevent the disputes of the younger generation from leading to violence.
“The violence in our streets — it’s not just the neglect of the state institutions. It’s a problem in our society, as well, an educational one. Our young people have lost the ability to resolve problems through dialogue — every small problem can lead to murder,” said one community leader.“We have to be realistic. We have to recognise in our society: do we bear part of the responsibility? Yes, we bear part of the responsibility.”
Mansour Abbas, leader of the Ra'am party, now a member of the coalition government pointed out that “homicides are just one parameter in the violence. There are attempts to gun down mayors, threats, extortion, blackmail, domestic violence, and use of weapons in disputes.”
The problem is so bad that there has been a sea change in Arab Israeli attitudes toward the police, creating a remarkable consensus in favour of more effective policing. Trust in the police among Arab Israelis remains extremely low — around 19%, according to a 2019 study. But rather than telling the police to get out, as many did in years past, there is an increasing understanding that working with them is part of the solution. Compounding the problem is a fear of retribution against those who do work with the police.
Arab leaders have even called for Shin Bet to play a role and even Arab Joint List chairman Ayman Odeh — opposed to the government and the presence of an Arab party in it - has called for a greater police presence and activity:
“We have a police force that can do everything when it wants to. Don’t you know the names of the crime lords? We, the Joint List, are calling on you to f*** them up! We want you to bash in their faces! We want to live in a society without weapons! No weapons! What are they good for?”
In response, the Bennett/Lapid government has proposed new measures, with new police stations in Arab towns, and more officers and new units to prosecute gangs. A task force of senior officers has been formed, and groups of senior representatives of law enforcement agencies — including the Tax Authority, the State Attorney’s Office, police, and others — will meet on a weekly basis in an effort to coordinate their activities. More controversially, they have also acceded to requests for the involvement of Shin Bet and have given the police the power to conduct warrantless searches, moves that have been welcomed by the majority of the Arab community. Already, though, some of the Arab MKs have backtracked on their previous support, and I've no doubt that certain NGOs will be quick to seize on every misstep. Undoubtedly, though, the moves are open to abuse and the erosion of human rights has to be avoided: therefore there will need to be strict civilian oversight.
But stricter and more effective policing is not enough to cure the problem. The socio-economic gap has to be closed to make a life of crime less attractive to young men, many of them unemployed and under-educated. The influence of an Arab party in government has resulted in a massive NIS 35 billion ($10.3 billion) in total funding for the Arab community over the next five years to be included in next month's crucial budget. If passed, it will invest in dozens of initiatives, from urban planning to public health to Hebrew-language instruction and help to integrate Arabs into Israel’s burgeoning hi-tech sector.
As we know from this country, simply throwing money at a problem does not necessarily make it go away. In Israel, even the devil-incarnate, Bibi, threw money at the problem, with a much lauded at the time NIS 10 billion ($2.96 billion) allocated to local Arab governments in every field imaginable: to train teachers, build water and sewage pipes, renovate public buildings, subsidise employment etc. Unfortunately, while there were successes, much of the money failed to reach its target due to becoming bogged down in red tape, and vast amounts ended up in the pockets of the same crime lords that are at the heart of the problems of today.
Crime syndicates are still involved in the classic trades: weapons, drugs, prostitution, and protection rackets, but they also threaten and extort contractors, and they pressure municipalities directly, often by violent means, in attempts to take over development projects. Municipality heads were targeted by criminals - at least 15 Arab mayors were targeted by gunfire in 2019, others had their cars set ablaze, Molotov cocktails thrown at their houses, or had family members threatened.
The government say they have measures in place to prevent this from happening again with more supervision of the bidding process, much of which will be digitalised to allow less manipulation of the system. I hope they are right. What is certain is that it will take years to fully resolve the problems and there will be plenty of setbacks along the way, and tragically there will be more bloodshed - I doubt the clans and gang leaders will go quietly.
For me this is the most important domestic issue this government has to deal with, not just in an attempt to eradicate crime and bring greater parity between Jewish and Arab communities, but also because the future of positive Arab engagement in government probably depends on it succeeding. For that last reason there are many on the Israeli right and some in the Arab community who hope it fails and the government collapses having achieved nothing. Outside of Israel there are those, including Hamas and their supporters, who are already embarrassed by an Islamist party sharing power with Jews and will do all they can to undermine it. There can be no procrastination from any part of the government - once the budget is (hopefully) passed they have to get on with it.
Two points to finish with: There is a similar, though less well documented, problem in the West Bank, where it is even more clan orientated. (In Gaza, Hamas and the clans work together). Secondly, there will be those who suggest that the gulf between Arab communities and their Jewish counterparts is an example of apartheid. I disagree - it's a flawed society, certainly, but show me one that isn't. I mentioned the burgeoning middle class earlier, and as just one example I'd cite the 2020 figures that show 46% of all new licensed doctors are Arab, as are 57% of new pharmacists; 50% of new nurses (many of them male); and 53% of all newly licensed dentists. That doesn't alter the problems that need to be addressed and I think most fair-minded people would want the government to survive and get on with the task of ending the crime wave and begin the process of 'levelling up' society.
Earlier this week Khalil Ja’u, 25, was shot by a gunman from a passing vehicle in the northern Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm, just a day after Israel passed the grim landmark of 100 murders this year in the Arab community. Several members of the Ja’u extended family have been killed over the past few years as part of the ongoing violence.
This means that 2021 is on track to be the bloodiest year for the Arab community since a crime wave began several years ago. The murder rate has risen sharply since 2015, when 64 Arab Israelis were killed, in comparison to 38 Jewish Israelis. In 2020, Jewish Israelis saw a similar 42 homicides, while Arab Israelis saw 96 violent deaths.
Many Arab Israelis blame the violence on organised crime, and accuse police of devoting too few resources to root it out in Arab communities. The police, for their part, say they receive little or no help from the community when they are investigating a crime. The violence is abetted by a tide of illegal weaponry. Hundreds of thousands of illegal guns are believed to be held in Israel, many of them in Arab communities. In 2020, there were some 400,000 illegal weapons in Israel. Former public security minister Gilad Erdan estimated that 70% of the illegal weapons were stolen from the Israeli army and police force. Police have sought to crack down on the free-flowing weapons through gun collection programs and arms raids, but seemingly to little avail.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said on Tuesday that “inequality and a disregard for distress” were playing key roles in the crisis of trust between the state and the Arab community. "Criminal and nationalist elements mingled and took to the streets to undermine public order. They fully exposed the severe crisis of trust that has long existed between Arab citizens of Israel and state institutions - a crisis that has grown and continues to grow against a backdrop of continuing inequality. It is urgent that it be dealt with.”
Years of under-funding and state neglect have led to a huge socio-economic gap between Arab and Jewish Israelis. In many Arab communities the roads are terrible, building cramped and crumbling. For an example of the difference between Arab and Jewish neighbourhoods, have a look at the city of Lod on Google maps; even from the air it's easy to tell which is which, and even more obvious on Streetview. That's not to say all Arabs live in poverty - there's a burgeoning middle-class - and in Lod there are areas where the two communities inter-mingle, but there is a large underbelly of society that has been left behind. Such squalid conditions tempt people into joining gangs or other criminal activities because they perceive it as a way to earn easy money and a glamorous lifestyle.
There is no doubt that the tribal clan system also aggravates the situation, creating an atmosphere of almost open warfare between rival families vying for control of cities and communities, and furthering a cycle of violence with revenge attacks spreading out over years. In addition, Arab Israeli society is changing - the traditional authorities - family elders and religious leaders - have been unable to prevent the disputes of the younger generation from leading to violence.
“The violence in our streets — it’s not just the neglect of the state institutions. It’s a problem in our society, as well, an educational one. Our young people have lost the ability to resolve problems through dialogue — every small problem can lead to murder,” said one community leader.“We have to be realistic. We have to recognise in our society: do we bear part of the responsibility? Yes, we bear part of the responsibility.”
Mansour Abbas, leader of the Ra'am party, now a member of the coalition government pointed out that “homicides are just one parameter in the violence. There are attempts to gun down mayors, threats, extortion, blackmail, domestic violence, and use of weapons in disputes.”
The problem is so bad that there has been a sea change in Arab Israeli attitudes toward the police, creating a remarkable consensus in favour of more effective policing. Trust in the police among Arab Israelis remains extremely low — around 19%, according to a 2019 study. But rather than telling the police to get out, as many did in years past, there is an increasing understanding that working with them is part of the solution. Compounding the problem is a fear of retribution against those who do work with the police.
Arab leaders have even called for Shin Bet to play a role and even Arab Joint List chairman Ayman Odeh — opposed to the government and the presence of an Arab party in it - has called for a greater police presence and activity:
“We have a police force that can do everything when it wants to. Don’t you know the names of the crime lords? We, the Joint List, are calling on you to f*** them up! We want you to bash in their faces! We want to live in a society without weapons! No weapons! What are they good for?”
In response, the Bennett/Lapid government has proposed new measures, with new police stations in Arab towns, and more officers and new units to prosecute gangs. A task force of senior officers has been formed, and groups of senior representatives of law enforcement agencies — including the Tax Authority, the State Attorney’s Office, police, and others — will meet on a weekly basis in an effort to coordinate their activities. More controversially, they have also acceded to requests for the involvement of Shin Bet and have given the police the power to conduct warrantless searches, moves that have been welcomed by the majority of the Arab community. Already, though, some of the Arab MKs have backtracked on their previous support, and I've no doubt that certain NGOs will be quick to seize on every misstep. Undoubtedly, though, the moves are open to abuse and the erosion of human rights has to be avoided: therefore there will need to be strict civilian oversight.
But stricter and more effective policing is not enough to cure the problem. The socio-economic gap has to be closed to make a life of crime less attractive to young men, many of them unemployed and under-educated. The influence of an Arab party in government has resulted in a massive NIS 35 billion ($10.3 billion) in total funding for the Arab community over the next five years to be included in next month's crucial budget. If passed, it will invest in dozens of initiatives, from urban planning to public health to Hebrew-language instruction and help to integrate Arabs into Israel’s burgeoning hi-tech sector.
As we know from this country, simply throwing money at a problem does not necessarily make it go away. In Israel, even the devil-incarnate, Bibi, threw money at the problem, with a much lauded at the time NIS 10 billion ($2.96 billion) allocated to local Arab governments in every field imaginable: to train teachers, build water and sewage pipes, renovate public buildings, subsidise employment etc. Unfortunately, while there were successes, much of the money failed to reach its target due to becoming bogged down in red tape, and vast amounts ended up in the pockets of the same crime lords that are at the heart of the problems of today.
Crime syndicates are still involved in the classic trades: weapons, drugs, prostitution, and protection rackets, but they also threaten and extort contractors, and they pressure municipalities directly, often by violent means, in attempts to take over development projects. Municipality heads were targeted by criminals - at least 15 Arab mayors were targeted by gunfire in 2019, others had their cars set ablaze, Molotov cocktails thrown at their houses, or had family members threatened.
The government say they have measures in place to prevent this from happening again with more supervision of the bidding process, much of which will be digitalised to allow less manipulation of the system. I hope they are right. What is certain is that it will take years to fully resolve the problems and there will be plenty of setbacks along the way, and tragically there will be more bloodshed - I doubt the clans and gang leaders will go quietly.
For me this is the most important domestic issue this government has to deal with, not just in an attempt to eradicate crime and bring greater parity between Jewish and Arab communities, but also because the future of positive Arab engagement in government probably depends on it succeeding. For that last reason there are many on the Israeli right and some in the Arab community who hope it fails and the government collapses having achieved nothing. Outside of Israel there are those, including Hamas and their supporters, who are already embarrassed by an Islamist party sharing power with Jews and will do all they can to undermine it. There can be no procrastination from any part of the government - once the budget is (hopefully) passed they have to get on with it.
Two points to finish with: There is a similar, though less well documented, problem in the West Bank, where it is even more clan orientated. (In Gaza, Hamas and the clans work together). Secondly, there will be those who suggest that the gulf between Arab communities and their Jewish counterparts is an example of apartheid. I disagree - it's a flawed society, certainly, but show me one that isn't. I mentioned the burgeoning middle class earlier, and as just one example I'd cite the 2020 figures that show 46% of all new licensed doctors are Arab, as are 57% of new pharmacists; 50% of new nurses (many of them male); and 53% of all newly licensed dentists. That doesn't alter the problems that need to be addressed and I think most fair-minded people would want the government to survive and get on with the task of ending the crime wave and begin the process of 'levelling up' society.
