The two-hour debate held this week between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset members from the Joint List, which is ostensibly supposed to be one of the most important discussions in recent years, is doomed to failure in advance. This is despite the fact that we have already crossed the 90-murder threshold in Arab society since the beginning of the year, not to mention the hundreds of wounded who do not enter the statistics.
It seems that the discussion is intended to tick off a check for both sides – mainly because of the lack of mutual trust that neither side hides – and they will find it difficult to reach any kind of cooperation, even though the issue is critical and has implications for the entire country, and despite the fact that the two million Arabs in Israel deserve personal security just like any other citizen.
The failure of the meeting has several reasons. The first, and perhaps dominant, has to do with internal Arab politics, since Ra'am members refused to participate in the meeting not out of a lack of confidence in the prime minister, as stated by MK Ayman Odeh, but because of a lack of trust in the members of the Joint List and because of their anger and resentment at their help in toppling the previous coalition, of which Ra'am was an integral part. Such a disagreement is a major reason for the poor image of Arab Knesset members among the public that sends them to the Knesset, and before they meet with the prime minister, they should have presented at least one common agreement and a form of cooperation.
The document of demands submitted by the Joint Committee raises very important and vital points, but it is doubtful whether a government in which Ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich hold veto power can fulfill a single demand or request, and it is clear that the reasons are political. Some of the points in the document have been addressed over the past decade, during the various Netanyahu governments, but without any success or influence, such as the Ministerial Committee for Arab Public Affairs, the appointment of a project to fight crime in Arab society, and the establishment of a police department dedicated to increasing enforcement and fighting crime. Even if there is some response from the current government, experience shows that, unfortunately, there is no influence or change regarding the continued activity of criminal organizations.
One of the important points and requirements is the establishment of a statutory authority, whose role and purpose will be to audit and examine the implementation of projects and various government decisions, and to submit reports to the relevant bodies. Any committee that is established will be political to one degree or another and will have reasons for failure far more than success, and a statutory authority will act according to its purpose.
This is a good opportunity for Prime Minister Netanyahu to embrace the bleeding Arab society and show that he cares. The reason for the state of Arab society has nothing to do with government decisions, but also with decisions made in Arab society itself. At the same time, it must be admitted that Arab society is in the midst of a severe leadership crisis politically, socially and religiously. It is divided and divided and disintegrated, which is why the prime minister must lead a series of significant decisions.
Providing security to two million citizens who are not a foreign entity in the country is the order of the day, and tomorrow may be too late.
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