Re.: A Systematic Program to Eradicate Violence and Crime in Arab Society

Transcription

1 December 6, 2018 To: MK Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister Re.: A Systematic Program to Eradicate Violence and Crime in Arab Society Serious violence in Arab society is threatening to become a social disaster, and the serious consequences of the situation have long since ceased to be confined to the Arab public. A study by the Knesset Research and Information Center on violence in Arab society in the period confirms the gravity of the situation: 64% of murder victims in Israel are Arab citizens; the proportion of Arabs among murder suspects is 57% and their proportion among victims of attempted murder is 53%. Half of all those suspected of causing grievous bodily harm are Arabs. One-third of the victims of assaults on public workers are Arab citizens, as are 82% of persons suspected of the illegal carrying or possession of firearms. These figures are particularly worrying given that Arab citizens account for just 20% of the total number of citizens of Israel. The serious reality reflected in the above statistics is the result of the following factors: 1. The ongoing lack of appropriate policing services decades of underpolicing are reflected in neglect by the police in attending to crime in Arab society; loose enforcement, a slow response to calls, and a low rate of solving crimes; and the inadequate allocation of staff positions and resources enabling the police to combat crime and violence within Arab society. At the same time, the police also adopts an overpolicing approach reflected in the use of disproportionate violence against Arab citizens and the adoption of quasi-military practices, whether against the background of criminal activity or protests and disturbances. The tension between underpolicing and overpolicing is the product of the manner in which the police regards Arab citizens of Israel in two contexts: The civilian context, in which it is supposed to provide these citizens with efficient policing services, and the security context, in which it regards these citizens (or some of them) as a potential threat to the regime and to public order. This contradiction between the two levels of the police s functions relating to Arab citizens creates profound and mutual mistrust, and severely impedes the police s ability to serve Arab citizens and to combat crime in their communities.

2 2. Poverty and unemployment the connection between economic deprivation and difficulties and phenomena of violence and crime is recognized around the world, including in Israel. Half of all Arab families in Israel are defined as poor, and almost twothirds of Arab children live below the poverty line. Arab communities are concentrated on the lowest socioeconomic rungs and many of them suffer from profound underdevelopment, high unemployment, weak education and welfare systems, and derelict physical infrastructures. 3. The struggle for resources: land and jobs the special status of land and the emotional bond with land, together with the increasingly grave shortage of land, exacerbate conflicts between and even within families. At the same time, the extremely limited availability of positions and jobs in the Arab communities leads to fierce competition for every position competition that turns into a battle between entire families. This is also the main reason for the fierce struggles surrounding the municipal elections struggles that usually have nothing to do with ideological platforms or the community itself, but to what is regarded as control of positions to be distributed like loot to those who belong to the victorious group. 4. Internal developments and changing social structures Arab society is traditional, but it is not immune to global social changes (including new means of communication, social networks, etc.). The transition from a traditional-religious, rural, and collectivist society to a modern, open, and individualistic one has been accompanied by fierce disagreements, sometimes accompanied by threats and violence against those who challenge the traditional and patriarchal way of life and the gender gap. Threatening ideological discourse, accentuated in the social media, is also common in other contexts and in political and ideological debates. The erosion of family authority is a further expression of these changes. Disputes that in the past were resolved between the heads of families, dignitaries, or reconciliation committees can now rapidly flare up into fights involving large numbers of participants. The individual seeks self-realization, even if this means distinguishing themselves from the group, which thereby loses tools for deterrence and supervision over the individual. 5. Inactivity among young adults approximately 40% of young Arab men and women are neither studying nor working. While their Jewish peers have access to a clear and predetermined track, Arab high school graduates face an unclear future with limited opportunities for employment and vocational training. Moreover, they are not properly

3 prepared for academic studies. The problem is compounded by the lack of community centers, sports facilities, and entertainment possibilities. This reality of boredom and inactivity creates fertile ground for the emergence of antisocial behavior, vandalism, and violence. 6. Limited presence of governmental agencies the Arab communities face a clear shortage of basic services such as hospitals, central bus stations and railroad stations, firefighting and rescue services, and Magen David Adom stations. Government offices ( government compounds ) are almost nonexistent in the Arab communities. This lack creates a sense of lawlessness, disorder, and disregard of the state for its Arab citizens. 7. Limited access to capital and credit the positive development of entrepreneurship, commerce, and construction in the Arab communities is creating demand for capital and credit, which are not sufficient available in Arab society. As a result, many Arab citizens seek loans at high interest rates, leading to the phenomenon of debt collection by means of violence and the extortion of protection money. 8. Protest, alienation, and despair the over-representation of Arabs in crime and the phenomenon of disregard for the law may, in some cases, form a type of protest against the state, its authorities and self-definition, and its social order. This reality reflects feelings of despair and the sense of a lack of a future among citizens from the Arab minority. This protest reflects the conviction that sovereignty in Arab communities rests, or should rest, with elements from within Arab society, and not with the authorities of state. 9. The eradication of crime in Jewish cities the efficient work of the enforcement agencies in combating organized crime in Jewish cities has not eliminated it, but led it to shift to Arab cities where enforcement is loose and ineffective (such as in the Triangle and Wadi Ara areas). Thus Arab communities and the Arab neighborhoods in mixed cities have become preferred zones for criminal activity.

4 The following are some steps that it is already clear should be taken: Despite its direct responsibility for this field, the police cannot confront this problem by itself. There is a need for a structural and conceptual reform in the police: it must adopt a purely civil perspective and abandon its self-perception as a security body in the context of Arab citizens. Without ignoring the security challenges that result from the conflict, the police should be freed from responsibility for these aspects. Until then, the police will find it difficult to fill its original function in fighting criminals. Establishing new police stations, recruiting personnel and volunteers, reporting and submitting complaints, and cooperating with investigators will all no longer be controversial once the police no longer has a split personality and it is clear to the public (and to police officers) that it is a body that exists to provide a service for Arab citizens, too. Government Resolution 1402 regarding the improvement of policing services in Arab society, and the subsequent establishment of the Policing Authority for Arab Society and of new police stations reflects the effort to improve the quality of policing in Arab communities. The pace of progress is slow, however, and cannot keep up with the deterioration on the ground. Accordingly, the police should: Adopt a pro-community policing approach based on fairness, respect, and human contact with citizens problem-solving policing that prevents problems rather than only confronting them after they have already emerged. Defining violent cities as a prioritized target for comprehensive attention. Maintaining a substantial and ongoing presence in Arab communities, including the establishment of police stations designed and functioning as service centers rather than as fortified compounds in the style of the military government. Making a supreme effort to solve crimes in general, and murders in particular, despite the partial cooperation of the public, since the police bears the burden of proof. Successes in this field are a condition to gaining public trust. Avoiding paramilitary activities in Arab communities. Avoiding contact and confrontation with the population on issues that do not relate directly to maintaining law and order (such as displaying flags that are not illegal, which meets with an aggressive response by police officers). Prioritizing attention to illegal weapons in Arab communities. Voluntary amnesties should be arranged in return for non-criminalization, while at the same time enhancing enforcement operations and the seizure of weapons.

5 Ensuring accountability toward the public and seeing the public as a client entitled to present its problems and priorities and to receive a response from the police. Providing systemic training for commanders and police officers on policing in a divided society and the challenges this entails. Formulating and presenting a long-term plan to eradicate crime in Arab communities and in general. The Ministry for Public Security should promote the allocation of the necessary resources. It should also promote the establishment of emergency service centers in the Arab communities, including police stations, fire-fighting and rescue stations, ER or emergency medicine rooms, and a local situation room. These centers make sense in operational, planning, and economic terms and will enhance the legitimacy of the police as a life-saving service. In addition, the Ministry for Public Security should complete the infrastructure of CCTV cameras in Arab communities. The Ministry of Justice should focus its efforts on three objectives: stricter penalization of weapons offenses (with reference to the punitive policy of the courts regarding these offenses); establishing community arbitration centers in Arab communities; and turning the Police Investigation Department into an effective, attentive, and relevant body for the Arab public. The Ministry of Housing, the Planning Authority, and the Israel Lands Authority should work to solve the problem of the limited availability of land and to approve and accelerate plans in order to reduce tension relating to building and housing. Planning in Arab communities moves very slowly, if at all, and there is a need for a binding timetable in this area. At the same time, work should be accelerated to establish new Arab cities in the Galilee, the Triangle, and the Negev. The Ministries of Finance and Economy, together with the Tax Authority, the Inspector of Banks, and the Monopoly Commissioner, should all act in coordination to open bank branches (of diverse banks) and develop financial tools and services, loans and mortgages adapted to the needs of Arab society. Equally, they should act seriously to confront the phenomena of gray market loans and the black economy in Arab communities. The Ministry of Education should develop and activate curricula on the subject of violence, conflict resolution, safe behavior on social networks, road safety, and other areas. In the informal education field, the ministry should encourage the full and optimum operation of community centers in the Arab communities and should increase the range of activities available to children and youth in order to reduce the levels of boredom and inactivity among young people on the streets. At present, many community centers in Arab communities are failing to meet their full inherent potential.

6 The Ministry of Welfare should expand the care and aid packages it provides for disadvantaged families and should develop programs for at-risk youth in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, including allocating staff positions for therapists and social workers on the basis of local poverty and violence indexes. The Interior Ministry should work together with the local authorities to establish playgrounds and parks. The state lottery should help in this effort by establishing community centers and sports facilities, including in poor local authorities that cannot meet the requirement for matching funding. It is clear from the above that without a comprehensive government effort, it will not be possible to address the deep-rooted causes of violence in Arab society and to eradicate the phenomenon. Accordingly, we ask you to order the establishment of an interministerial team, headed by the Director-General of the Prime Minister s Office, to eradicate violence in Arab society. The team will be responsible for formulating a comprehensive government plan to eradicate violence and for coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the plan. The interministerial team will include the Chief Commissioner of the Israel Police, the State Attorney, the director-generals of the Ministries of Internal Security, Justice, Finance, the Interior, Education, Housing, Economy, and Social Equality, and the Head of the Economic Development Authority for the Minority Sectors. It is vital that the team s work and decisions be formulated through a process of dialogue and consent with elected Arab representatives in the Knesset and in local government, since their support for the plan is essential. We hope that our appeal will fall on attentive ears. Law and order, security, and protection are a basic civil right to which Arab citizens are entitled just like Jews. The absence of these constitutes a serious obstacle to the social and economic development of the Arab communities and jeopardizes the full implementation of the government s unprecedented plans for the economic development of Arab society. It is time that Arab citizens feel that the state sees their lives as equal to those of its Jewish citizens. Sincerely, Amnon Beeri-Sulitzeanu Dr. Thabet Abu Rass Co-Directors, Abraham Initiatives

7 CC: Minister for Internal Security, Mk Gilad Erdan Minister of Justice, MK Ayelet Shaked Minister of Finance, MK Moshe Kachalon Minister of Education, MK Naftali Bennett Minister of Construction and Housing, MK Yoav Gallant Minister of the Interior, MK Aryeh Deri Minister of Social Equality, MK Gila Gamliel Chairperson of the Joint List, MY Ayman Odeh Chairperson of the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, MK Yoav Kisch Attorney General, Atty. Avichai Mandelblit Director-General of the Prime Minister s Office, Yoav Horowitz Director-General of the Ministry for Public Security, Commissioner (Ret.) Moshe Edri Director-General of the Ministry of Justice, Atty. Emmy Palmor Director-General of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Shai Babad Director-General of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Shmuel Abuav Director-General of the Ministry of Construction and Housing, Mr. Hagai Reznik Director-General of the Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Mordechai Cohen Director-General of the Ministry for Social Equality, Mr. Avi Cohen Acting Chief Commissioner of the Israel Police, Commissioner Motti Cohen State Attorney, Atty. Shai Nitzan Head of the Authority to Improve Policing in Arab Society, Israel Police, Commissioner Jamal Hakrush Head of the Authority for the Struggle against Violence, Drugs, and Alcohol, Ministry of Public Security, Brigadier General (Ret.) Danny Shahar Arab Education Authority, Ministry of Education, Mr. Abdallah Khatib Economic Development Authority for the Minority Sectors, Ministry of Social Equality Chairperson of the Supreme Monitoring Committee of the Arab in Israel, Former MK Muhammad Baraka Committee of Heads of the Arab Local Authorities