Arab citizens fight back as Israeli government ignores rising violence in Arab communities

An estimated 40,000 Arab and Jewish protesters turned out in Tel Aviv Saturday night for an unprecedented rally, accusing the government of neglecting its Arab citizens and allowing violence to run rampant in the community.

It is too early to say if the protests will advance towards center stage on Israel’s crowded agenda. But the feeling is that the Arab citizens are already breaking new ground in demanding their rights.

Their leaders are becoming more ambitious now. They hope to translate the awakening of peaceful street demonstrations during the last two weeks into an electoral springboard to change the government.

Arab Knesset members, members of a higher coordinating council, local leaders and activists are discussing how to keep up popular momentum after Saturday night's demonstration.

The murder rate has more than doubled since the avowedly racist Itamar Ben Gvir, a key ally of Netanyahu, became national security minister. Most of the deaths are caused by organised crime families, often in turf wars where the circle of victims has kept expanding to the point that the entire population feels threatened.

Ben-Gvir appears unmoved as the Arabs he despises and incites against die at the hands of the crime families and their mercenaries The surge of killings and coercion to pay protection money has included people being abducted from their homes and shot, safe residential streets turning into zones where residents fear to leave their houses and even children getting gunned down by the crime families as they battle for territory, money and power.