Two large clans in the Bedouin city of Rahat held a "sulha" (forgiveness pact) last week, following the murder of a young man several years ago. Dozens of sheikhs and local dignitaries attended the event, along with representatives of the rival clans. Based on what we know from the event, the sulha doesn't just entail sanctions on the accused killer, whose trial is currently ongoing, but also on his wider circle of relatives. His sisters and several cousins were banished from the city in the immediate aftermath of the murder.
The pact, ironically, begins with a passage from the Quran that states: "The believers are naught else than brothers. Therefore make peace between your brethren." It consists of 12 clauses that are exploitative, brutal, and hard to believe. Extended relatives of the accused were forced to take an oath at the mosque in Rahat disavowing him and any future connection with him or his nuclear family.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Among other stipulations, the sulha pact henceforth confines them to living in one specific neighborhood in the city. If they do relocate, they will have to pay a ransom of 50,000 shekels ($14,700). If they don't pay it, five guarantors must do so. Additionally, anyone bearing the suspect's family name, irrespective of any blood relationship, will be restricted to attending on certain schools in the city. The sulha committee didn't stop there, however, and added one more prohibition for good measure: Moving forward, each of the suspect's clan members is forbidden from hosting in their homes, or driving in their cars, or simply meeting with any member of the suspect's nuclear family, who as stated have already been exiled from the city.
These prohibitions and restrictions also include expropriating lands belonging to clan members, and the pact prevents them from building on their private properties. Fourteen private plots of land belonging to members of the suspect's clan will be redesignated as public plots through the municipality.
The most incredible aspect of the sulha is that it obligates the Rahat municipality, one of the largest cities in southern Israel. In other words, a legal and supervised state body is bound to the decisions of an unofficial sulha committee, the decisions of which are completely and utterly devoid of any legal validity.
There's no greater cause than forging peace and breaking the cycle of revenge and bloodshed. The dignitaries of the Bedouin community have done so for decades, and are deserving of praise for every life saved. But Israel is a country of laws. The time has come to outlaw sulha committees in Arab society, and the police and law enforcement agencies must prevent them from filling the vacuums between the citizens and government.
Collaboration with the sulha culture, either directly or indirectly, not only means giving up on the very possibility of proper governance and applying the country's laws everywhere, but also abandoning citizens to an immoral system of rules that have no legal or ethical bearing. Family members, whether close or distant, among them children, must pay for the crimes of another person, bear marks of shame, and face ostracization. Is there no greater injustice? It is incumbent upon government ministries and law enforcement agencies to intervene in this matter and apply law and governance equally – in all corners of the land.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
