The burgeoning sport, hitting the Israel Police, has become a national hobby. I, too, have participated in the competition many times before. Indeed, many things in the Israel Police deserve criticism and require a thorough correction. But not everything is to blame only the police. It would be a mistake to claim that the Israel Police bears sole responsibility for the failure of the crime that is rampant in Arab society. Why? Because the police do not have the tools to work within a civil society that does not cooperate.
A month ago, as part of an article in which I interviewed teachers in Arab society, I was exposed to an issue that people dare not talk about. The educators, who are exposed to a terrifying reality on the street, at home and in the classroom, said that when they are caught up in crime incidents, the first thing they do is lower their heads. Not only so as not to absorb a stray bullet or to avoid exposure to the sight of blood, but mainly so as not to see who pulled the trigger.
They explained that this is what everyone does so as not to accidentally become a witness. Not seeing, not hearing, not knowing, is also their instruction to children at home and students in class. Why? Because someone who reluctantly becomes a witness may be interrogated by the police and suspected by the murderers of being liable to turn them in, and thus his own life will be in danger.
On a personal level, I identified with the terrible fear that the ordinary citizen finds himself in Arab society, but on the public level I understood why the Israel Police is unable to solve murders in Arab society. In 2022, there were 104 murders in Arab society, and only 24 of them were solved. In Jewish society, on the other hand, there were 34 murders and 24 of them were solved. In other words, while in Jewish society 70% of files are solved, in Arab society more than 70% of files are unsolved. Every open murder case means murderers walking free with their hand on the trigger, with a boldness that only grows stronger. It is no wonder that in the first half of 2023, more than 100 people have already been murdered in the Arab sector.
One of the main reasons for the failure to solve murder cases is the difficulty of the police in obtaining incriminating evidence against murderers in Arab society, in the absence of eyewitness testimonies. When all the witnesses close their eyes and do not cooperate with the police – whether out of fear for their lives or out of a sense of alienation from the state – the police have no tools. Even if we pour more money and standards on the police, nothing will change without the cooperation of Arab society.
You can continue to blame the state, hold more demonstrations and days of rage, you can also continue to beat up the police, but the main responsibility is Arab society itself, especially its leaders.
Where are the religious leaders, imams in mosques, mukhtars, heads of councils, Knesset members and educators? Why don't they stand up together and in one loud and clear voice declare: From this day forward we are all witnesses, we all open our eyes and ears and give the police every shred of information.
Leaders of Arab society must overcome fear and openly declare that giving testimony to the police is a religious obligation and a social mission, and that it is a necessary condition for eradicating crime and keeping terror off the streets. The State of Israel, for its part, must simultaneously operate extensively and encompassingly the Witness Protection Authority, in order to protect the lives of witnesses from Arab society.
If the leaders of Arab society continue to bury their heads in the sand and do not actively lead the necessary change, the State of Israel, which is ultimately the sovereign responsible for it, will have no other choice but to activate the Shin Bet. It is not healthy for the Shin Bet to be used against the citizens of the state, very unhealthy and may even be a slippery and dangerous slope. But it's also dangerous to keep letting blood spill like water. Every other option must be exhausted, but in the end only the Shin Bet has the tools to operate within a population that does not cooperate.
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