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July 9, 2014 Special Dispatch No. 5791

Israeli Arab Journalist: The Current Israeli-Arab Protests Are Doing More Harm Than Good

July 9, 2014
Special Dispatch No. 5791

In a column posted on several Israeli Arab websites, Sa'id Badran, an Israeli Arab journalist who ran in Israel's 2013 Knesset elections on the list of the Arab-Israeli Hope for Change party, criticized the methods used by Israeli Arabs protesting the killing of Jerusalem Palestinian teen Muhammad Al Khadir

Badran also criticized Israeli Arab leaders, whom he said were goading Arab youths into pointless rioting but who then shirked responsibility when the resulting events got out of control. Likewise, he called on these youths' parents to do their duty and protect their children, instead of handing their fate over to "paper" leaders. He argued that this loss of control on the Arab street could have serious repercussions for the daily lives of Israel's Arab citizens, and that for this reason Israeli Arabs needed to protest more effectively using legal and nonviolent methods.

Below are excerpts from the column:


Sa'id Badran. Source: Alkul.com, July 7, 2012.

"Undoubtedly, the methods of struggle used by Arab citizens in Israel to protest the continued oppression by the [Israeli] regime have become hackneyed, flaccid, and completely useless; If they prove anything, then they prove the total bankruptcy of this society's leaders and their inability to provide a practical and persuasive alternative that will meet the public's demands. They [also constitute] decisive proof that [the people] have lost all confidence in this leadership, which has undoubtedly become passé, is in a state of political bankruptcy, and lacks even the minimal ability to control events.

"We see how these leaders got the public out into the street to express their protest, but they lost control of events, which created chaos and loss. The repercussions for this country's Arab citizens' day-to-day may be disastrous.

"For example, I noticed that leaders who boasted and danced with joy when the public went out to Umm Al-Fahm junction [to protest] quickly lost control [of the events on the street] and then, after making the usual statements to the media, they fled. What is comic and at the same time sad is that their excuse for evading their responsibility was to blame the Umm Al-Fahm municipality – as if the municipality had the capabilities and means to prevent a downhill slide into the abyss.

"I don't know what benefit could have been expected from closing a street here or there and setting tires ablaze here or there, or what benefit there is in throwing stones at passing vehicles, because many of the damaged vehicles belong to Arab citizens. Even if the Palestinian flag is raised, will this actually liberate Palestine?!! Meanwhile, such actions led to the arrest of dozens of youths, and the end is not in sight.

"In light of the disappearance of these leaders – who enjoy [parliamentary] immunity from the Israeli Knesset – the only way to control [the rioters] is via their parents, and the question is – where are they, what is their social and moral role, and where is their obligation to protect their children, most of whom are teenagers, in the second decade of their lives?! Are these paper leaders more in control of the fate of these youths than their own legal guardians are?

"Yes, we are in danger. We are in particularly grave danger because the Israeli establishment cannot, and perhaps does not want to, protect us as citizens from the aggression of the settler hordes and their helpers... As a result, we must act logically and wisely. Instead of getting dragged into rioting, it is better that we, in every municipality and in every place, guard our homes and property by establishing local security committees, operating on a volunteer basis and using all legal means against the criminal settlers who want to break into an Arab city like bats in the night.

"Why shouldn't we learn the lessons of past events? Why shouldn't we change and renew the means of struggle so as to derive greater and more effective benefit – so that our shouts as an oppressed minority will reach human rights conventions, in Israel and worldwide – but in a professional and scholarly manner? Why should we not plan peaceful demonstrations, for which we have obtained legal permits, in the hearts of Jewish cities, and hold protest rallies at the junctions?

"Sometimes I get the feeling that the chaos that is occurring, particularly in the [Arab] Triangle area [i.e. in the area of the Arab villages around Umm Al-Fahm], is nothing but a planned scheme... whose heroes are [actually] agents who are secretly taking advantage of [youthful] enthusiasm in order to actualize the [land] swaps plan [between Israel] and the Antoine Lahad authority[1] [i.e. the Palestinian Authority]. Likewise, I am not ruling out the possibility of a return of the despicable military government, whose reimplementation in the Triangle area is imminent on the pretext that the security weakness and rioting there constitutes a security risk for Israel."[2]


Endnotes:

[1] Lebanese Gen. Antoine Lahad was commander of the South Lebanon Army (SLA) from 1984 until its dissolution following Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000; some accused him of being a collaborator with Israel.

[2] Kufur-kassem.com; Bldtna.com, July 6, 2014.

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