Hundreds of people gathered at the Lod market square on Saturday (June 13) to protest skyrocketing crime, violence, and rampant protection rackets within the Arab community in Israel, while denouncing the right-wing government’s perceived policy of neglect. Demonstrators marched with black flags, the majority dressed in black, chanting slogans in both Arabic and Hebrew, including “Arab blood is not cheap” and “We have the right to live in justice.” Plastic chairs bearing photos of murder victims from the Arab community were placed around the square. The rally, organized by the National Committee of Arab Local Authorities and the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, marks the fourth in a series of similar demonstrations, following recent protests in Tel Aviv and Sakhnin.
“This is not incompetence – it is policy”: Protesters rally against crime and homicide in Arab society in Lod, Saturday, June 13, 2026 (Photo: Zo Haderekh)
High-profile attendees included Members of Knesset Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif (Hadash), Iman Khatib-Yasin (Ra’am), Chairman of the High Follow-Up Committee Jamal Zahalka, Chairman of the National Committee of Arab Local Authorities Mazen Ghanaim, and the head of the Hadash Knesset list, Dr. Yousef Jabareen.
Jabareen told reporters: “I joined the protest against crime and neglect in Lod because this bloody reality is not destiny. The Netanyahu-Ben Gvir government bears responsibility for the bloodshed and for abandoning Arab society to the violence of organized crime. We will continue fighting for life and personal safety, and we will hold those responsible in this government of crime and blood accountable at the ballot box.”
Later, anti-government protests erupted nationwide. At Jerusalem’s Paris Square, police confiscated demonstrators’ sound systems, megaphones, and air horns, citing a ban on “making noise before the end of Shabbat”, a move that directly contradicts previous court rulings. Officers later blocked a march, sparking clashes. Police deployed mounted units against the crowd and arrested five protesters. Two female detainees were driven in a police van to Teddy Stadium, four kilometers away, where officers ordered them out of the vehicle. Three others were taken to a police station and released near midnight.
In Tel Aviv, approximately 1,000 demonstrators gathered at Habima Square. At the protest held at the Horev Center in Haifa, activist Nava Rozilio declared in her speech “In spite of the far-right government, there will be democracy here, there will be the rule of law, and Jews and Arabs will live here in full equality. In spite of them, Israel will return to striving for peace instead of drowning in war.”
A joint demonstration of religious and secular citizens against the government also took place at the Ein HaNatziv junction near Beit She’an. This followed an incident the previous week where fascist counterprotesters passing by cursed and attacked the demonstrators. Additional protests were held across the country, including at the Karkur, Tzemach, and Gomeh junctions in the Galilee, as well as in Rosh Pina, Karmiel, Nahariya, the Beer Sheva Performing Arts Center, Elyakim Bridge, Haogen junction, Rehovot, Herzliya, Kfar Saba, the Kabri junction in the Western Galilee and Afula.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=33502
