Every incident of violence, and especially murder, is by all accounts a serious occurrence that does not align with the life of a modern society in the 21st century, which strives for integration, education and, economic development.
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True, many of the victims are far from being Righteous Among the Nations, nor are they innocent bystanders – in fact, many of those killed recently were targeted as part of the feuds raging between criminal organizations – but that is of little comfort because no one has the right to take another person's life or take the law into their own hands.
Yes, many of the victims were criminals, but if the police cannot prevent the bloodshed from continuing, at least on an intelligence-gathering level, then they must both address that or the tally of victims will continue to grow. Simply put, the organization entrusted with maintaining public security has to be held accountable.
Violence resulting mainly from revenge or criminal terrorism that originates from the desire to control, whether on a personal level or on a criminal one, is part of the erroneous, dark culture in Arab society. This is despite the fact that most Arab citizens are not only normative and want to live in peace and quiet, but are also affected by a process of Westernization and Israelization.
The same people, who are a minority and perhaps the fringe of society, seek in their violent ways to take over the others. The other is the son or daughter, the neighbor or the weakest member in the family in, the community or the area. And unfortunately, to this day, they are successful.
The fact that violence in the Arab Israeli sector intensifies daily and has grown in a scope that threatens not only the Arab and Jewish sectors but actual state security, has become evident in recent years.
However, the type of violence that isn't murder or organized crime has made the lives of most Arab Israelis into a living hell.
Many communities that have residents who serve in the IDF celebrate their return home with gunfire – using automatic weapons. Everyone hears it and sees it, but is too afraid to do anything about it. I can attest to that personally. The question is – where is the military in all of this? If the IDF is familiar with this phenomenon and does nothing about it - that's serious; and if the IDF isn't familiar with this phenomenon, it is doubly as serious.
Here comes the role of the police, especially at the intelligence level: why do the police allow such a phenomenon? And assuming that the police do not have the right information – where is the Shin Ben security agency, which is successful in every mission and action, and can remove any bullet from anywhere, in any locality, Arab or Jewish?
Murder is running rampant in Arab society, claiming over 90 lives in recent months. This is nothing but a low point, but none of those responsible - the state, Israeli governments over the decades, the Arab leadership, and especially the heads of the various local authorities - saw the future. Perhaps there are those who chose to bury their heads in the sand as long as it doesn't directly affect them.
Violence in Arab society is the greatest strategic challenge the State of Israel is facing. Had it been a security challenge, things would have been handled differently – more harshly. When the intelligence community in Israel deemed the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement as a threat, it wasted no time recommending to the political echelon that it should be outlawed and created a plan to dismantle all of its institutions, economic, and media assets, and even arrested its leaders.
Was the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement a bigger threat than the murder of 1,600 Arab Israelis over the past two decades?
The failure in dealing with violence is not based solely on intelligence-gathering, it also lies with the leadership. The state has treated the Arab sector as its "back yard" but Arab society itself has allowed these obvious elements to take over the public sphere.
When talking about decades of neglect, there will be those who will argue that billions of shekels have been invested in Arab society. The answer is clear and obvious: yes, quite a few resources have been invested in the last two decades, especially after the October 2000 riots and the findings of the Or Commission – the state commission of inquiry that followed them.
However, these investments were made without an orderly plan, and it is difficult to close gaps and address the problem in the short term, even if endless resources are appropriated. Closing the gaps requires an actual plan and serious investment for a period of 15 to 20 years.
It is difficult at this stage to be optimistic and say that the issue of crime and violence will soon end. By the end of the year - and I say this with a heavy heart - I fear we will cross the number of 100 murder victims. This is the annual statistic.
This is not just a specific problem but a lateral one, related to education from an early age, overcrowding and the prevention of a struggle for land and places of residence.
This issue also speaks to the proper use of resources and budgets by local authorities, especially with respect to nepotism, corruption, extorting protection, and those who intimidate the weak.
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The issue of violence and the use of weapons in a reformed modern society, which has high-level access to information on 22 countries and 500,000 million Arabs, should not be separated from maintaining national security. And yes, the Arabs are also part of national security, or at least they should be. They should not be considered a "national threat" even if Israel is a Jewish state.
This is not an issue of political or religious identity. This is an issue of life and death.
Jalal Bana is a media adviser and journalist.
