Jewish Fascists Attack the Property of Arab Citizens in Northern Israel

Fascist hoodlums slashed the tires of some 100 cars and scrawled anti-Arab and anti-Muslim slogans on buildings in an Arab-Bedouin village in northern Israel, overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, December 12-13, in the latest in a wave of hit-and-run hate crimes perpetrated by members of a Jewish terrorist movement still unidentified and unapprehended by Israel police authorities.

The fanatical racists carried out their attack in the Jezreel Valley village of Manshiya Zabda where they graffitied a Star of David on one of the cars, and wrote in Hebrew “Arabs enemies – expel or kill” and various insults directed towards the Prophet Mohammad on nearby buildings, including at the entrance to a mosque. On social media, a video was circulated showing group of masked vandals slashing the tires of cars as they tore through a street in Manshiya Zabda.

Echoes of another time, another place: Hadash MK's Ayman Odeh and Aida Touma-Sliman during a solidarity visit to the village of Manshiya Zabda on Thursday, December 12. The Hebrew graffiti spray painted on the wall reads: "Arabs out."

Echoes of another time, another place: Hadash MK’s Ayman Odeh and Aida Touma-Sliman during a solidarity visit to the village of Manshiya Zabda on Thursday, December 12. The Hebrew graffiti spray painted on the wall reads: “Arabs out.” (Photo: Al-Ittihad)

The incident bore all the hallmarks of a “Price Tag” attack, the label associated with anti-Arab hate crimes carried out by Jewish settlers and their far-right supporters, generally targeting Arab-Palestinian property, particularly in the occupied territories but also inside Israel itself.

The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) issued a statement on Thursday saying, “The far-right Israeli government still refuses to label [the perpetrators of “Price Tag” attacks] as a terrorist organization and considers it merely a group of vandals. This attack is similar to attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied territories. Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities. This racist violence includes the destruction of property, arson attacks against mosques, the hurling of stones at cars, the uprooting of crops and olive trees, and attacks on vulnerable homes.” At least one such arson attack, in the West Bank village of Duma in the summer of 2015, resulted in the death of the parents and child of a young Palestinian family .

The Israeli anti-racist watchdog organization Tag Meir has demanded that Israeli authorities take concrete actions to seriously deter further hate-crime attacks. The incident in Manshiya Zabda came only two days after Jewish racists slashed tires of about 160 vehicles and spray-painted anti-Arab hate graffiti in the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood of Shu’afat in Jerusalem.

The Emek Yizrael Regional Council, under whose jurisdiction the village of is Manshiya Zabda is located, issued a statement on Thursday saying, “The council categorically denounces the incident. We support the residents of Manshiya Zabda, who are very dear to us. We call on the police to find the perpetrators responsible for this heinous act and bring them to justice. We’ll show zero tolerance for incidents of racism and terrorism.”

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