While Jewish Israel is engulfed in a political uproar, party primaries, and a third Knesset election, the country's Arab society is in an uproar following a wave of protests against sexual harassment. Arab women's groups active in Haifa and elsewhere in northern Israel are running campaigns, mostly on social media, against Arab leaders and personalities in the spirit of the global #MeToo movement.
A lot of the activism is taking place on Facebook, and we have to admit that the comments and "shares" indicate plenty of personal score-settling.
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One can also read testimonies posted anonymously by the victims that describe serious harassment and sexual assaults – some of which occurred years ago – by strong men who hold influential positions or leaders in the public and political spheres. The perpetrators are named. When they respond, it only throws fuel on the fire, and when they stay silent, it is seen as an admission of guilt and they are labeled sexual predators.
The fruits of the MeToo campaign have already been seen. Among Israeli Arabs, like the rest of the Arab world and the world at large, a movement based on the power of social media and public opinion is deterring potential harassers and causing men in positions of power to accept new norms of appropriate conduct toward their female colleagues and subordinates. The campaign also has the power to convince women to report and talk about harassment or assault.
This is the first campaign to be run this way in Israeli Arab society – the first time the suspects have been fully identified, which can also be dangerous. In the end, the content posted to social media before law enforcement had a chance to look at it stays there, and the good names of some innocent people could be tainted. As a result of the campaign, we are already seeing the suspects' names graffitied in public places. Some of the men accused have discussed the allegations against them, but their responses were lost in the chaos of stories and rumors about their alleged acts.
In spite of that, it seems as if the campaign has provided a solution to the problem of so many women being unwilling to report their harassers to the police because they are afraid they won't be supported by the police or anyone else around them. Making the accused harassers' names public has created enormous pressure on the men to put out their own version of events and clarify things, admit, or apologize. That is what happened a week ago with a senior Arab Israeli politician, a prominent researcher, and a former Arab MK.
The names of the women who are sharing their experiences are being kept secret by the organizations running the campaign. Doubtless, this is an attempt to protect women who have been exposed to sexual harassment, but the moment their stories are made public, it seems there is no choice but to file a police report. Not only because the victims deserve justice, but also to prevent false complaints that harm the credibility of the rest of the testimonies and strengthen the credibility of the suspects.
Either way, the #MeToo movement has reached the Arabs of Israel, and the fact that it has comprises an important source of empowerment for Arab women in both the private and public spheres.
