The fear of an uprising among Israeli Arabs and in mixed cities like the Guardian of the Walls events was at the forefront of the minds of decision makers immediately after the October 7 massacre." Israel Hayom reveals that the Israeli government, led by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and the fight against anti-Semitism headed by Minister Amichai Shikli, worked behind the scenes to prevent unrest in Arab society.
Hamas support convoy in um al-Fahm
The move included not only high-profile and rapid arrests following Hamas-supporting activity on social media, but also a proactive propaganda campaign about a "shared destiny" in the sector, which included billboards, informational videos, and recruitment of heads of local authorities. The cost so far is about NIS 1.5 million. In one of the offices at the Julis base sit five service girls from the Arab sector, who have been monitoring the discourse on social media since the massacre. Their purpose is twofold: both to calm the discourse and to warn of immediate dangers.
Although the activity began in 2019, at the initiative of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, since the massacre the ministry's service members have been monitoring the discourse in order to prevent escalation inside Israel. Soon a kind of broadcasting studio is expected to be built in the ministry, from which additional messages supporting public relations will be exported. At the same time, over the past seven weeks, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs has worked to publish videos and banners, which have received millions of views on media networks and Arabic social media channels, with the message: "We are in this together. This war is against all of us. Together we will win." Alongside the videos, 86 billboards with the same messages were hung in Arab cities, towns and mixed cities. In the coming days, a dedicated website related to the Arab war is expected to be launched.
"Contrary to what many thought, since the beginning of the fighting, the Arab sector has shown great responsibility." Minister Shikli (archive), photo: Coco
The swift actions, the ministry believes, helped prevent dire predictions of another front erupting inland. Now, the ministry is looking forward to the release of dozens of terrorists to East Jerusalem. In an attempt to calm the situation, Shikley's office intends to direct their activities to these areas as well.
"We all remember the pictures from Guardian of the Walls," Shickley says. "There is concern in Jewish society, and it is understandable given the gravity of the events. At the same time, and contrary to what many thought, since the beginning of the fighting, the Arab sector has shown great responsibility, and there are also a significant number of volunteer initiatives and assistance among members of the sector. We emphasize combating the phenomenon of unjustified dismissal or discriminatory treatment of employees from Arab society.
"In addition, we are constantly fighting the dissemination of fake news videos on the networks, and we know that the enemy is trying with all its might to stir up the area - we will not let him. We all need to stand up against hate speech and misinformation. In the midst of this crisis, alongside great risk, there is also a great opportunity to strengthen the connection between Jewish and Arab society."
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