Anti-Arab violence increases across Israel

Right-wing rioters attacked and verbally harassed Arab-Israeli MK Ayman Odeh during an anti-government protest on Saturday in Ness Ziona.

Footage shows a crowd surrounding a vehicle in which Odeh – who chairs the Hadash-Ta’al party – was sitting, shattering the windscreen, while repeatedly cursing Odeh and chanting “death to Arabs”.

It comes days after the Knesset failed to approve a motion to expel Odeh from the legislature over comments he made about the Gaza conflict.

In another video, Odeh was seen speaking from a balcony as protesters continued to heckle him. In a statement on Saturday night, Odeh accused the police of standing by and doing “nothing” while he was attacked by the right-wing mob.

“This morning, we were informed that fascist extremists had threatened to attack us if we showed up, but we decided not to back down. We decided that no one will silence our voices,” Odeh wrote on X.

Odeh continued: “I was attacked by dozens of thugs. They assaulted my staff and me with stones, sticks, and anything they could get their hands on. They surrounded our car, shattered the windows, and shouted ‘death to Arabs’ the entire time. All the while, Ben Gvir’s police stood by and did nothing. Not a single arrest.

“But even in the face of such terrible violence, we will not be silent. On the contrary: it only strengthens our resolve, and our will to fight.

"We do not surrender to fascism. We stand firm against it, Jews and Arabs together, and we will defeat it. The struggle is clear: democracy or fascism. As we did tonight, I will stand tall in the face of fascists, with my head held high, and I will attend every protest across the country.”

The protesters also surrounded and shouted at Hadash-Ta’al MK Ofer Cassif, who later accused the government of supporting political violence. “Just so it’s clear: there is legitimacy and even encouragement from the government for violence and murder of its opponents,” Cassif wrote on X.

On Saturday, Israeli police arrested three Ness Ziona residents on suspicion of damaging Odeh’s vehicle, but they were released from detention the next day.

Judge Guy Maimon of the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court ordered the release, saying the video evidence presented did not show those who were arrested committing the actions the police attributed to them. Two of the men — Eden Sarafian, 31, and Pinchas Amar, 36 — were released to house arrest. The third suspect, a 15-year-old boy, was released without conditions.

Maimon also noted that numerous other members of the mob who surrounded and attacked Odeh’s car could be seen committing the crimes for which the three men were arrested, but they themselves were not detained. Police are continuing to examine evidence to identify further suspects.

Alongside accusations of “selective enforcement”, Israeli police have come under criticism over their failure to act on warnings from the protest organisers of potential violence and requests for reinforcements, which were not provided.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and all but one of his ministers remained silent on the incident. Likud MK Tally Gotliv openly endorsed the violence, declaring on X: “Not only do I not condemn the right-wing protesters against Ayman Odeh, the terror supporter, in Ness Ziona, I’m proud of them!"

A lone statement of condemnation came from Interior Minister Moshe Arbel of the Shas party, who demanded that law enforcement bring the “violent rioters” to justice. Arbel was set to submit his resignation from the government on Sunday, following in the footsteps of other Shas ministers who stepped down over the failure to pass a law exempting Haredi yeshiva students from military service.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, Democrats chairman Yair Golan, and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz also denounced the violence against Odeh, with Gantz calling on coalition members to condemn “this dangerous incident.”

Lapid wrote on X: “I condemn the violence against MK Odeh and call on the police to find those responsible and bring them to justice. There is no place for political violence in a democratic state."

Golan asserted that the incident was the “direct result of prolonged political incitement,” citing the failed effort to boot Odeh from parliament. “Those who vote in the Knesset in favour of ousting an Arab public official because of his opinions cannot be shocked when rioters attack him in the street,” Golan said, calling the incident “an attack against the entire Arab minority in Israel”.

Saturday night also saw a racist incident in Jerusalem, in which dozens of Jewish youths were filmed trashing a cinema while chanting “death to Arabs”.

Footage from the theatre showed large groups of young men throwing floor signs, disposable cups, and what appeared to be a motorcycle helmet at Arab employees at Jerusalem’s Cinema City complex. The workers responded by throwing objects back over the counter and giving the middle finger to the crowd.

Police said on Sunday that no one has been arrested in connection with the incident because the rioters had fled the scene by the time officers arrived.

“No suspects were detained because they had already left, and the employees were unable to identify the suspects when police were there. We are therefore working off the footage to identify [the suspects],” said a Jerusalem District spokesman.

Last Tuesday, three young men assaulted and robbed an Arab bus driver in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighbourhood. Ahmad Shehadeh, who works for the Extra bus company, was hospitalised with a broken nose after he was attacked at around 1am. The assailants choked, punched and kicked the driver, then stole his phone after disembarking, the Bus Drivers Association said in a statement.

Shehadeh, who was operating the 69 line from Givat Shaul north toward Neve Yaakov — a Jewish neighbourhood in East Jerusalem — was harassed by the gang throughout the ride, Channel 12 reported. The gang signalled for the driver to pause at every bus stop along the route. When he skipped one of the stops, the youths approached him and began to beat him.

Arab media reported the incident as a racially motivated attack, similar to an assault earlier this year on two Arab bus drivers by Jewish fans of the Beitar Jerusalem football team who were returning from a lost match.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev has promised to establish a security unit to protect drivers attacked by passengers. The ministry claims to have budgeted 20 million shekels ($AU9 million) for the unit, but there is still no sign of it, even as the number of attacks on public transport drivers rose by 30 per cent between April 2024 and April 2025.

Right-wing protesters assault MK Ayman Odeh, attack his car, chant ‘Death to Arabs’ (Times of Israel)

Judge criticizes police for not arresting actual perpetrators of assault on MK Odeh (Times of Israel)

Arab-Israeli MK Ayman Odeh spoke at anti-gov't protest after being attacked by right-wing rioters (Haaretz)

Violence against Israeli bus drivers is up, but promised security absent (Haaretz)