A killing a day: How a crime epidemic is spotlighting inequality in Israeli society
CNN
A mother shot dead outside a supermarket. A man killed after leaving a mosque. A doctor gunned down while treating patients. These shocking cases are no longer anomalies: they are the toll of a violent crime epidemic sweeping across Israel.
A mother shot dead outside a supermarket. A man killed after leaving a mosque. A doctor gunned down while treating patients. These shocking cases are no longer anomalies: they are the toll of a violent crime epidemic sweeping across Israel.
The victims are all Palestinian citizens of Israel. Homicides in their community have risen so dramatically that one person has been killed every day on average this year. Palestinian citizens make up 20% of the country’s population, and many say the Israeli government has not only failed to curb the crime wave, but that its inaction has helped spur a cycle of violence largely perpetrated by Arab organized crime groups.
The data bears out a stark inequality: Israel Police has solved just 15% of homicides in Israel’s Arab communities versus 65% among Jewish Israelis, according to data from Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and Eilaf, the Center for Advancing Security in Arab Society.
Palestinian citizens of Israel are descendants of those who were not expelled or forced to flee their homes when Israel was established in 1948. They were given citizenship but lived under military rule until 1966, and many say they continue to face discrimination in Israeli society.
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