The incredible scale of the violence in Israel and Gaza since October 7, 2023, has in many ways eclipsed other incidences of conflict over the past few years—during which Israeli casualties were in the dozens, not the hundreds, and Palestinian casualties were in the hundreds, not the tens of thousands. At a recent discussion in the Knesset, though, it became clear that the violence between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel that took place during May 2021 still looms large in the Israeli consciousness.
For around two weeks that May, Palestinians in Gaza fired rockets into Israel and Israel responded with airstrikes on Gaza. What made this round of violence distinct from previous rounds was the significant violence that broke out between Jews and Arabs inside Israel, especially within mixed cities.
From May 10 through May 17, 10 synagogues were set on fire by Arab rioters, as were 112 homes and 849 cars belonging to Jews. Arabs rioters also looted 386 Jewish homes and damaged 673. The police also reported 5,018 recorded instances of stone-throwing against Jews. Jewish rioters damaged 13 homes belonging to Arabs, set fire to 13 cars belonging to Arabs and carried out 41 recorded instances of stone-throwing against Arabs.
At the Knesset hearing late last month, Ori Narov of the Reform Movement’s Israel Religious Action Center accused two far-right Jewish groups of inciting violence during May 2021. He also called for closer monitoring of social media platforms.
Representatives for the police noted the preparations that were made leading up to the month of Ramadan, during which nationalist violence often takes place. They noted that order was maintained in mixed cities during this year’s Ramadan.
The police officers declined to answer questions from Arab parliamentarian Aida Touma-Sliman about the frequency of anti-Arab and anti-Jewish incidents in recent months.
Touma-Sliman and her colleague Yosef Atawna of the joint Jewish-Arab Ta’al-Hadash party pressed the officers on why the police had not adopted a similar level of preparedness to address crime in Arab communities.
A similar concern was echoed by Nir Rubin Syrkin, head of the mixed cities division at the pro-coexistence Abraham Initiatives organization. Rubin Syrkin said that the primary issue in mixed cities is not racist violence but concerns over personal security. He called for the implementation and funding of government decision 1834—an urgent plan aimed at reducing gaps and addressing violence and crime in mixed cities, which has remained unfunded for the past two years.
“Personal security is largely in the hands of municipalities, which aren’t receiving enough assistance,” Rubin Syrkin said. “There are no positions for social workers, for police officers, the welfare departments are collapsing. There is no one to address the social phenomena that occur, and there is not enough attention to the interaction between the populations – there is not enough investment in Hebrew and Arabic studies. Issues related to inaction, poverty, and lack of prospects ultimately become something that is interpreted as nationalistic.”
“I understand that preparations are being made here for potential events in May that may return, but where is the preparation to address crime and the issues that concern us as residents of the mixed cities? There needs to be a situation where all these residents have good lives, employment, and a future,” he continued.
MK Ayman Odeh, chairman of Hadash-Ta’al, shared his perspective as a resident of the mixed city of Haifa. He expressed that both Jewish and Arab communities in mixed cities should be commended for maintaining positive relations despite difficulties.
“This is not easy and should not be taken for granted,” he said. “We are not in a vacuum. Despite the challenges, Arabs and Jews maintain normal relations. This should be responded to with encouragement, not incitement.”
When Odeh brought up the situation of civilians in Gaza, he was removed from the committee by committee chair Boaz Bismuth of the Likud party.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Marina Levy.
