cross-posted from: hilariouschaos.com/post/7166870
The leap in violent crime has been almost exclusively felt by Israel’s Arabs, who make up about a fifth of the population but are some 14 times more likely than Jewish Israelis to be homicide victims, according to a recent study.
While Israel’s overall murder rate is around 1.6 per 100,000, among Arabs the rate is around 12 per 100,000, higher than El Salvador’s and on par with Venezuela’s.
Community members have pointed fingers at a host of problems, from a lack of policing to government policies that have allowed organized crime to fester and grow.
Residents’ deep frustration with law enforcement, alongside rampant mistrust of police, bubbled to the surface again and again in speeches and conversations at both memorials. Many mentioned National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a Jewish nationalist who oversees law enforcement and has become something of a symbol for the perceived desertion of Arab towns.
Relatives of Masadeh and Hejazi said that no suspects had been named or apprehended in either killing. Police did not respond to requests for updates in either case.
“What police? What are the police doing? They aren’t doing anything,” Emad Hejazi replied with indignation when asked about law enforcement efforts in his brother’s case.
He claimed that officers ignored him when he showed up at his brother’s house following the shooting.
“They sat, muttering to one another. They didn’t speak to me at all,” he said. Police at that point had not yet reached out to anyone in the family, he said.
Many feel that authorities aren’t just failing to quell violent crime in their towns, but are pursuing a policy of intentional neglect. The sense of complete abandonment has become particularly prevalent since Ben Gvir took office some three years ago.