The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) states without qualification that neither of the two latest fascist terrorist attacks – not the knife-wielding attack on the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem nor the firebombing of the Dawabsheh family home in the occupied village of Duma – was an isolated or unexpected crime. Rather, both of these abhorrent acts are inherently and unmistakably linked to years of continuous incitement by the Israeli right, most notably by the Netanyahu government and the prime minister at its head, which zealously and self-righteously attacks and spurns anything different from its own fascist and racist worldview.

Leading activists from Hadash and the CPI conducted a solidarity visit on Monday, August 3 at the home of the Dawabsheh family in the occupied village of Duma; first from left: CPI General Secretary, Adel Amer. (Photo: Al Ittihad)

The CPI forcefully and unequivocally condemns these fascist terror assaults and, again, sees them as a direct consequence of the relentless and vicious incitement perpetrated by racist organizations such as Lehava (“Organization for Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land”), and Netanyahu’s government itself.

It is absolutely clear that the devastating pogrom against the Dawabsheh family – the murder of 18-month-old Ali Sa’ad and the serious injury of the family father, Sa’ad, mother, Reham, and 4-year-old brother Ahmed – is yet another despicable event in the long history of bloodshed for which the Israeli occupation is primarily responsible.

The murder of 16-year-old Shira Banki at the Gay Pride Parade and the wounding of another five marchers should also be understood within the broader context of the inhuman, 48-year occupation which has turned Israeli society into one which is ultra-violent, vicious and chauvinistic.

The CPI warns of the ever-increasing escalation of hate crimes and racism fomented by the extreme right – an escalation manifested in an unprecedented assault on the society’s democratic space in its entirety, one which enjoys the support of the Israeli government and the acquiescence of the state’s law enforcement authorities. We call upon all democratic groups to join forces against the fascist threat and to defend democratic values and peace and equality for all persons irrespective of religion, race, color, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation.