by Jonathan Kuttab
Over 100 Israeli civilians have died violently since the beginning of this year. They were not victims of rocket fire from Gaza (none this year), nor of what Israel calls terrorism (a handful this year), but of organized crime. The reason these victims never received much attention is that although they were Israeli citizens they were Palestinian Arabs and not Jews. If there is anything that confirms the apartheid nature of Israel, it is this wanton indifference to Arab lives.
Israel has been very efficient in eliminating the Jewish mafias (which is one reason for the creation of a vacuum that was filled by Arab mafias). The number of civilians killed by gun violence and even bombs in the Arab community has been rising steadily, tripling over the last year. Protection rackets run rampant, as well as corruption in the municipalities, as these mafias seem to operate with total impunity. Citizens are so disenchanted with the police response that they sometimes do not even bother to report criminal activities at all. Citizens are even afraid to leave their homes after dark.
There are different causes for this, to be sure. One reason for this, expressed by Israeli police chiefs, is that many of the perpetrators of the violence are of value to Israeli security officials as informers, and the impunity they enjoy is one of the attractive inducements they have to act as informers against any so-called “terrorism related” activities. Another reason is the total lack of trust the community has in Israeli police who have historically been more concerned with curbing any political manifestations of Palestinian nationalism than in the welfare of the Arab community. Israel’s extensive resources in fighting crime have not been directed at the Arab community, where there is a chronic shortage of police and crime fighting resources.
Another reason is the blatant racism and proliferation of anti-Arab stereotypes found in Israeli society, especially among the police. One police chief was even heard saying recently that nothing can be done because “violence is in their nature.” Such racism against Arabs is well known in Israel.
The new Israeli minister of police, Ben Gvir, himself an indicted criminal and totally unprofessional and unsuited for his position, is using this crime wave to introduce against Israeli Palestinians the same oppressive measures used extensively in the occupied territories. He is calling for authorization to use administrative detention, which is legal in Israel, against Palestinian Arab citizens specifically. Over 1000 Palestinians in the occupied territories are currently under administrative detention, with no charges or trial, for indefinite periods (actually 6 months, renewable), but this is not regularly used in Israel. Jewish Israelis are correctly concerned that such measures are undemocratic; however, the new regulations are intended to make it clear that these measures will only be used against Arabs. This would only further consolidate and confirm the view that Israel is now more clearly and openly acting as an apartheid state.
Netanyahu is also calling for greater use of the secret service (Shin Bet) in the fight against organized crime in the Arab community. This is curious since the Shin Bet has always been active in the Arab community, mostly to fight Arab Palestinian nationalism, vet school teachers and other government employees, and generally for controlling the Palestinian population. Calling for a greater role for them in fighting crime simply invites a slide towards the return to military rule in Arab areas of Israel. After all, the entire Arab community in Israel was under military rule from the creation of the state to 1966, one year before the Six Day War and the occupation of the remainder of historic Palestine.
Whatever the reasons or details of organized crime in the Arab community in Israel, the basic concern is over a system where non-Jewish lives are treated differently than Jewish lives. The divine light within every human being requires that we show equal concern for all lives. The vulgar chant, often heard in right-wing demonstrations, that “a Jewish soul is sacred but Arabs are s.o.b.s” must not be tolerated. At FOSNA, we affirm the value and sacredness of each and every life and reject all forms of discrimination and bigotry. The fight against apartheid flows not only from the universal (secular) notions of human rights, but also from our deeply-held religious belief in the intrinsic value of all God’s children. It is this that informs our rejection of antisemitism (anti-Jewish bigotry), Islamophobia, and all forms of racism, discrimination, and bigotry. This also comprises our most serious critique of Zionism. Jesus rejected claims of Jewish superiority (“Do not say we are children of Abraham. God can create out of these stones children of Abraham”), and he offered salvation to all, most especially the marginalized and the maligned. As followers of Jesus, we can do no less.