{"id":285074,"date":"2026-02-11T04:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T04:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/285074\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T04:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T04:04:11","slug":"protesters-hold-nationwide-day-of-disruption-over-soaring-violent-crime-in-arab-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/285074\/","title":{"rendered":"Protesters hold nationwide \u2018day of disruption\u2019 over soaring violent crime in Arab community"},"content":{"rendered":"

Protesters on Tuesday took to the streets in cities nationwide alongside relatives of homicide victims, demanding police act against the surging violence in Arab communities, where another deadly shooting occurred amid the demonstrations.<\/p>\n

The protests, part of a \u201cday of disruption\u201d over the issue, drew hundreds to demonstrations in cities including Jaffa, Lod and Haifa, where police arrested four protesters during a march down a road.<\/p>\n

Activists with Standing Together, a Jewish-Arab movement spearheading the day\u2019s demonstrations, kicked off the day-long protest action by blocking major roads in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

Police arrested two in the capital while dispersing protesters from the road.<\/p>\n

Some activists also poured red dye, meant to symbolize the bloodshed, into water fountains in Haifa and Tel Aviv. The stunt led to four arrests in Haifa and one in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

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All seven were released from the police station by noon.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tAn activist pours red dye symbolizing blood into an ornamental pool during a protest calling for action on deadly violence in Arab communities in Tel Aviv, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ariel Schalit)<\/p>\n

From there, protesters continued to take to the streets. Medical staff at five hospitals across the country also briefly stopped working at noon in protest of the deteriorating situation in Arab locales, heading outside to protest.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friends who have clinics in Arab society are threatened all the time. These are our people. There have been doctors who have been murdered, and there is an entire world of families suffering from post-trauma,\u201d said Irit Meretyk, the head of the doctors\u2019 association at Rambam Medical Center.<\/p>\n

She called on the Israel Medical Association to throw their backing behind the fledgling protest movement.<\/p>\n

In the evening, protesters gathered in Haifa\u2019s German Colony, as another homicide occurred east of the coastal city, in the Galilee village of Kafr Kanna, where a man in his 30s named Salah Jabr was shot to death.<\/p>\n

He was the 40th member of the Arab community to be violently killed since the start of 2026, according to the Abraham Initiatives, an organization that tracks Arab homicide victims.<\/p>\n

Attending the Haifa protest was the organization\u2019s head of public affairs, Yanal Jabarin, who insisted that this current wave of violence is far from inevitable and rather \u201cthe result of long-standing policy failure and state neglect.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tProtesters demonstrate in Haifa demanding police act against surging violent crime in Arab society on February 10, 2026. (Charlie Summers\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

Ashraf Suleiman, whose nephew Najwan Suleiman was shot and killed last year in the northern city of Tamra, spoke during the rally, saying his family \u201cnever thought one of its own sons would be murdered in cold blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe grew up on the values of loving the other, respecting the law, and making an honorable livelihood,\u201d said Suleiman. Najwan\u2019s mother has been a teacher for more than 30 years, his father works long hours at a port to provide for his family, he added.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tAshraf Suleiman, the uncle of Najwan Suleiman, who was shot to death in October 2025, speaks at a protest demanding police crack down on violent crime in Arab society in Haifa on February 10, 2026. (Charlie Summers\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

Despite being raised in a normal family by two hardworking parents, \u201cthe evil reached us as well,\u201d Suleiman lamented.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe leave the house not knowing whether we\u2019ll return. On our streets, there is another kind of war,\u201d he continued. He accused police of leaving Arab citizens on their own to deal with criminals who \u201challow a culture of power, guns and intimidation.\u201d<\/p>\n

After hearing Suleiman speak, protesters attempted to march down the sidewalk, but police hurried to disperse them, arresting four demonstrators.<\/p>\n

In footage of one of the arrests, a pair of police officers were seen holding a man to the ground, one with a knee on the man\u2019s neck. Mounted officers were also at the protest site, alongside a handful of undercover police.<\/p>\n

\u05d4\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1 \u05d1\u05d7\u05d9\u05e4\u05d4 \u2013 \u05de\u05e2\u05e6\u05e8 \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd \u05e9\u05dc \u05de\u05e4\u05d2\u05d9\u05df.
\u05d0\u05d7\u05d3 \u05d4\u05e9\u05d5\u05d8\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05e6\u05de\u05d9\u05d3 \u05d1\u05e8\u05da \u05dc\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05d0\u05e8\u05d5 \u05e9\u05dc \u05d4\u05de\u05e4\u05d2\u05d9\u05df.<\/p>\n

10\/02\/2026 \u05d7\u05d9\u05e4\u05d4 \u05de\u05ea\u05d5\u05da \u05d4\u05d7\u05e9\u05d1\u05d5\u05df \u05e9\u05dc @BetterPocker<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/I9xrBOlQJk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05de\u05d5\u05ea \u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc (@Alimut_Israel) February 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Police said they arrested the demonstrators after they \u201ccontinued with an illegal procession against the conditions\u201d on which the protest was approved. Some of them attempted to block traffic, police added.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Arab society saw its deadliest year on record, with 252 homicide deaths in total. This year has seen killings continue at an even faster pace, and 2026 stands to be even bloodier if the current trends remain the same.<\/p>\n

Critics blame police, and in particular the minister responsible for law enforcement, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Since Ben Gvir took office, the homicide rate in Arab society doubled.<\/p>\n


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