You can't argue with facts. The Arab sector has seen an unprecedented crime wave in recent months: shooting after shooting and murder after murder as crime groups and crime families wage a bloody war that exacts a heavy toll on the Arab residents.
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The public cannot help but feel helpless, and rightly so, as well as disappointed at the campaign promises by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – to ensure governance and crack down on crime – that were never kept.
Video: The scene of the quadruple murder in the Israeli Arab town of Abu Snan / Credit: Magen David Adom
Although Ben-Gvir is not responsible for the spiraling crime wave in the Arab sector, as someone who built his entire campaign around a lack of governance, he certainly should be held accountable.
Governance is not something that can be restored by giving interviews to the media, holding press conferences, making empty promises, or bickering with the police commissioner. Rather, it is restored through cooperation between the National Security Ministry and the Isreal Police, as well as other government ministries.
Governance is restored by heeding the advice of professionals, such as Sigal Bar-Zvi, head of Israel Police's operations division, who warned just a few months ago that the Arab sector was collapsing and a state of emergency needed to be declared.
Instead of listening and taking action, it seems that the national security minister was preoccupied with everything but his responsibilities. He argued with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant about IDF activities in Judea and Samaria, which seems to be more important to him than burning issues related to national security.
Already a year ago, the police and security officials determined that crime organizations would most likely try to overtake the authority of Arab localities during municipal elections. And although the writing was on the wall, the national security minister not only did not address the matter but even dismantled the previous government's program aimed at tackling the crime wave.
And although Ben-Gvir does have some achievements, such as securing a hefty budget for the police, the severity of the situation in the Arab sector just cannot be overlooked.
A recent report by State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman linked the inactivity among youths in the Arab sector to its high crime rates. It classified 25% of Arab males and 34% of Arab females as "inactive" – meaning they were neither employed nor studying.
The report also found that alongside an increase in the number of unemployed Arab youth, there was also a staggering 50% rise in crime rates between 2015 and 2021.
The time is long overdue for rapid changes that would prevent criminal organizations from meddling in elections, as well as protect elected officials in the Arab sector who are subjected to pressure from criminal elements.
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