The Mossawa Center, Haifa. Monday 7th of July 2014. The Mossawa Center, the Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel calls on the Israeli government to stop the current wave of arrests of youth protesting against the attacks on Arab citizens. Mossawa also calls on the government to put a stop to the violent incitement against Arabs which has intensified in the last few months.  The "tsunami" of price tag attacks, unjustified police violence, and physical attacks on Arabs including women and children has led to increased anger and frustration in Arab localities. It is important to point out that this increase in incitements and attacks against the Arab community began months before the kidnapping and killing of the three Jewish settlers.

In the last few days, dozens of private lawyers from various organizations announced that they would be volunteering to defend those who have been arrested in the Israeli courts.  The Mossawa Center calls for the protection of the Arab community and the protesters and an end to the destruction of public property. The Director of Mossawa Jafar Farah said, "The protesters are not protesting against the Jewish people, they are protesting against the criminals that are attacking mosques, churches, and Arab civilians and are not being convicted for their actions.  The police and the Israel Security Agency who are aware of the intention to attack mosques and civilians only give warning to the victims instead of dealing with the criminals who are carrying out the price tag attacks."

The Arab public is in a state of fear, as they believe that the killing of 15 year old Mohammad Abu Khdeir from Jerusalem will not be the end of racist attacks.  Since the events of October 2000, we have witnessed a number of civilian murders that have resulted due to racist motives.  Leaders in the Arab minority are trying in any way possible to take action to calm the heated atmosphere in the Arab cities and towns.  This atmosphere is reminiscent of the days when on August 4 2005 the soldier; Nathan Zada murdered Arab citizens on a bus in Shefaamer. Zada was killed in an act of self-defense and as a result, the perpetrators who gave him orders to carry out the operation have not been found or convicted as of yet.

Moreover, it is becoming more apparent that young Arab activists who state their opinion or criticize the government whether in the streets, social networks, or in their academic arenas are being approached and arrested as the Israeli government immediately labels them as a "security threat".  Thousands have called for attacks against Arabs, including physical attacks in front of cameras and on major social networks and nothing has been done about it. To see some of the attacks that have been perpetrated follow the link to our Facebook page.  Outside of the arrests made in connection to the murder of Mohammad Abu Khdeir, all Jewish Israelis who were arrested for violent actions in the last weeks have already been released while Arab citizens who were arrested are still being held awaiting court trials and extensions to their detention.

The Mossawa Center warned that there would be a wave of incitement following the removal of the gag order that was placed on the killing of Sheli Daddon, a Jewish Israeli woman who was found dead on May 1st.  Extreme political figures are putting pressure on the members of the Dadon family to turn this tragedy into a "national security" incident.  Most of the suspects of the crime have been released and if it turns out to be true that the last remaining suspect of the killing of Shelly Dadon is in fact guilty, we call for the police to refrain from labeling the incident as one of "nationalism." 

 The Arab minority in Israel is in a situation of a political, economic, and social deprivation and it has led to frustration and resistance from youth who have lost all hope for any improvement from the government.  Unfortunately, no lessons have been learned from past events. The "Or Commission," is a panel of inquiry which was appointed by the Israeli government following the killing of 13 Arab citizens in October 2000. It investigated the events that took place between civilians and security forces which found that Arab citizens suffer from governmental discrimination in Israel which leads to an outpouring of frustration.

The Mossawa Center calls for

�         An end to the occupation and systematic discrimination against Arab citizens in Israel and immediate action towards building peace between the Jewish and Palestinian people

�         All perpetrators of "Price Tag" attacks to be arrested and prosecuted.

�         The organization of cooperative events between Arab and Jewish towns calling for an end to the racism and violence

�         The immediate activation of a media campaign explaining the reactions taking place in Arab towns

�         The organization of meetings between Members of Knesset and Mayors to call for an end to incitement and violence

�         The release of all the Arab youth that have been arrested and to contact their families

�         To file complaints against the physical attacks on Arabs that have taken place in the past weeks

�         Members of Knesset and politicians to take a stand against the statements of Minister Lieberman who said, "[Arabs rioting in the north] do not belong in the state of Israel - and until that is resolved, their place is in jail." and Prime Minister Netanyahu who said, "They [Arabs] can't enjoy National Insurance stipends and child allowances while simultaneously violating the most basic laws of the State of Israel," in response to protests which resulted from the news of the death of 15 year old Mohammad Abu Khdeir.