Since May 10 and the start of the clashes between Israel and Hamas, clashes between Jews and Arabs have erupted in the country, mainly in mixed Judeo-Arab cities such as Jaffa, Lod, Acre, Nazareth, Bat Yam and of course Jerusalem. . 

But members of these two communities refuse this escalation of violence.

Some have taken to the streets in a call to brotherhood to try to maintain this coexistence that has existed for decades.

On Facebook, Jews and Arabs have also changed their profile pictures to add anti-war slogans or to proclaim that they "refuse to be enemies."

"Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, let's live together", also posted the daily Haaretz in an editorial published Tuesday, May 18, to fight against these divisions.

"

A complex message"

Dubi Moran, an Israeli Jew from Ramat Hasharon, a town northeast of Tel Aviv, participated in the protests. "We prefer to talk about existence, rather than coexistence," he explains to France 24. This man works with the NGO Windows Channels for Communication, which brings together Palestinians from Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and Israeli Jews who work together on youth programs to promote justice, freedom, dignity and equality.

"I am in contact with many Arab citizens and several solidarity groups. I feel their deep frustration and fear, and the hatred and hostility that boils down. It is very difficult. My only source of optimism is to see them. actions we organize, primarily manifestations "

,

he says. "I can't just sit at home and give up hope. The gatherings may not yet be working as expected, but they are still precious. We have to keep going and make sure we bring in more and more people, in more and more places. We will no longer be able to ignore them, "he adds.

The associations calling for a gathering of all Israeli citizens are many and varied. They are made up of Judeo-Arab groups, feminists, fighting against government corruption, religious or secular.

More than a dozen community groups on Wednesday launched an appeal to create the largest possible human chain of peace in Jerusalem. In several hospitals, Jewish and Arab caregivers have also chosen appeasement, calling for calm and posting photos showing their unit. "We are delivering a very complex message," says Sally Abed, a member of Standing Together, one of the largest community groups. "We also want to mobilize solidarity within the Jewish community, but many of these citizens are under attack. They are afraid and they also want to hear a fair denunciation of the violence from both sides. They do not want to hear about the occupation. , but the end of the violence ".

“Long before the violence escalated, we mentored people in Jerusalem, Jaffa and several mixed cities around several topics of common interest. Since the clashes returned, we have been able to organize dozens of rallies. calling for union between Arabs and Jews, calling for a ceasefire and the end of the occupation ", describes Sally Abed. As an Israeli Arab, this activist believes it was "absurd" to think that an offensive in Gaza could ensure the protection of Israelis.

Avid Dabush, the chief executive of the Rabbis for human rights movement, also believes that a "silent majority" of Arabs and Jews want a return to peaceful coexistence: "It is heartwarming that some people, even those who may be afraid, say 'We are going to come out and show that we are the majority' and not give in to the minority. "

#Medical staff at hospitals in Israel call for peaceful #coexistence between Jews and Arabs.

Medical staff at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer and Rambam Medical Center in Haifa work in #solidarity to prioritize the well-being of patients.

https://t.co/qiNj7LiXh2 pic.twitter.com/ikvJEoYrwn

- ISRAEL21C (@ ISRAEL21C) May 14, 2021

Although not a rabbi himself, Avid Dabush was brought up on ultra-Orthodox principles. He now lives in Sderot, near the border with the Gaza Strip, an area that was the target of hundreds of rockets fired by Hamas last week. "We are at war and I live in a town that has been hit by gunfire. But what is most dangerous right now, to a point, is what is happening within Israeli society. between Jews and Arabs, ”he explains.

Sally Abed of the organization Standing Together also points out that these demonstrations denounce the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip: "We really believe that there is no other way to end the The occupation must be ended. It also requires the creation of a government and a country that serves our interests in matters of security, peace, social justice and economic equality ".

Israeli Arabs are "part of the Palestinian people," she adds.

"It is a fact. What is happening there affects us here. It does not contradict our will, our desire and our interest to become Israeli citizens and to be a full part of society."

Also today, we mobilized THOUSANDS of Jewish and Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel all around the country, demanding not only a stop of the current escalation, but also an end to the injustices in our society.

We are here for a real change towards a just, equal society.

pic.twitter.com/gkxwYJgptS

- עומדים ביחד نقف معًا Standing Together🟣 (@omdimbeyachad) May 15, 2021

Joint protests are not the only way to bring Jews and Arabs together.

In Acre and Jaffa, members of the two communities are joining forces to clean up the streets after the riots, to repair the damage caused by the clashes or to start fundraisers to help victims on both sides.

An asymmetry in the police response

Edouard Jurkevitch, a researcher and professor of microbiology at the Hebrew University of Rehovot, has participated regularly in rallies in recent months in Arab towns. He observed that in these localities crime is rampant, but that the interventions of the Israeli police are rare: "We go to Jaljulia (an Arab town) almost every week to support the population in their fight against crime. local and against the lack of action of the Israeli government and the police ".

Most of those interviewed for this article agree that the purpose of these protests is to end community violence on both sides. They also recognize that there is an asymmetry in the police response. At the end of this week of riots, 116 people were arrested by police, all of them Arabs. "None of the particularly violent Israeli settlers have been arrested," notes Sally Abed.

"When you are in the street, you see everything. We do not need to receive information from the media. You see the violence of the police, the inequalities and the injustices", also specifies Neora Yaari, a Jewish resident of the mixed town of Ramle. “I started to join solidarity gatherings in the towns of Jaljulia and Umm el Fahm, but I never really went to Jerusalem. Maybe I was scared, I don't know. At first I did not see the connection with East Jerusalem, ”describes this activist.

Jews and Arabs have been demonstrating, however, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem for more than ten years to denounce the evictions of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers. The movement has gathered momentum and intensified in recent months as the Israeli Supreme Court was due to render a ruling on the matter on May 10. For Sally Abed Abed, the presence of Jewish demonstrators in Sheikh Jarrah was particularly important: "It makes it possible to defuse police violence".

Last April, Neora Yaari also made the same observation.

While on a tour of the neighborhood, she was injured by a police stun grenade.

"It made me realize the extent of inequality," she explains.

"We had always known that there was a lot more violence in certain sectors of Israeli society, but I didn't think it was that bad."

Jewish and Arab protesters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem on May 7, 2021 © Courtesy of Dubi Moran

A general strike

The protests in Sheikh Jarrah came to a head last week, when Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist, set up an office right in the neighborhood.

This provocation by the ultra-right MP and his supporters angered the Palestinians and sparked violent clashes that shook Jerusalem.

The clashes between protesters, settlers and police, as well as those that took place at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City, were used on May 10 by Hamas to justify rocket attacks against Israel.

In response, Israel carried out deadly bombardments on the Gaza Strip. 

Since then, Israeli Arabs, Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank have launched an unprecedented general strike to denounce this repression and especially these raids carried out by the Hebrew state. The strike "is one more step in the series of Arab protests," said Taleb el-Sana, an Israeli Arab and former member of the Knesset. "This general strike denounces Israel's irresponsible and dangerous policies under the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which stokes the fire to stay in power. He sacrifices the people on his personal altar. He tries to turn Jews against Arabs, and vice versa. -versa ". "The problem is not the Arabs against the Jews, nor the Jews against the Arabs. We must make them together, forming one against Netanyahu and his government,"says Taleb el-Sana.

Neora Yaari and Dubi Moran have also started demonstrating against the Prime Minister and his government.

"But now what guides this protest movement are the bonds between us. Only the light will disperse the darkness. We will not get what we want by fighting against what we do not want. not, but for what we want, ”concludes Neora Yaari.

Original article in English adapted by Stéphanie Trouillard.

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