Written by: Dr. Sami Miari, Lecturer at Tel Aviv University and Oxford University and Director General of the Arab Economic Forum

The recent waves of violence within the Palestinian Arab community at home cast a heavy shadow over everyone, and opened up a debate again about its causes, effects, and ways to reduce it. In the face of a dangerous phenomenon like this – which is getting worse – there must be a systematic scientific discussion that avoids emotional outbursts, issuing haphazard judgments, and comments that deal with aspects while ignoring others.

In order to shed light on the motives and reasons behind the escalation of this abhorrent phenomenon, the following factors must be addressed:

First – the economic factor:

According to scientific research, the fragile economy of minorities (ethnic groups) has a prominent role in the involvement of these groups in storms of violence, and as other studies have shown that the opportunity cost for an individual or family living below the poverty line or suffering from unemployment due to low income is low compared to families and individuals Those with good economic status, and therefore this opportunity cost leads to a high rate of individual involvement in violence.

This theory is proven in many studies in the United States of America, especially among ethnic minorities who suffer from a bad economic situation, and studies in Europe have shown that there is a correlation between the bad economic situation on the one hand, and the involvement in violence on the other hand.

And if we apply this theory to our Arab society at home, we will see that the majority of Arab villages and cities suffer from high unemployment and limited income, and the percentage of families living below the poverty line exceeds 50%, and the poverty rate among the young generations is the highest in the country.

The rate of women’s participation in the labor market does not exceed 30%, and therefore the probability of an Arab individual’s involvement in violence is much greater compared to other ethnic groups in the country.

Second – the role of the police:

If we examine the work of the police in Arab society, we will notice the following:

(Regarding the quality of its work): Over the past years, the police have proven (ineffective) in the Arab community, compared to its effectiveness within the Jewish community in the country: When a crime occurs within the Jewish community, we see the effectiveness of the police work in the investigation and in uncovering the circumstances of the crime and transferring it to the judiciary. Whereas, when its counterpart in the Arab community falls, the inaction and limited police work in identifying the circumstances of the crime prevail. This undoubtedly raises the existing question: Is the quality of police work in the Jewish sector higher than in the Arab sector??!

(Regarding their numbers): Is the number of police personnel working in the Arab regions of the country commensurate with the number of citizens? Answer: Absolutely not. As there is an internationally recognized ratio of the number of police personnel to the number of the population in an area, and therefore the shortage in the number of police personnel working in the Arab sector is clearly visible.

Nepotism and nepotism: The police have another aspect – a very big one – in dealing with perpetrators of crime in the Arab sector, which is no less dangerous than the crime itself, which is nepotism.

It is no secret to a follower that in many Arab villages and towns there is communication and communication with the police in the same area, and they mediate for the perpetrators of some crimes with the police to release them, while the police respond to that, so we are faced with a double or compound crime: the crime of the perpetrator, and the crime of the police that escaped. The perpetrator is punished and held accountable, and this indicates a defect and corruption in the police apparatus.

Here I have the right to record my astonishment and astonishment: Will the Israeli police allow this

Third – (Frustration among young people):

When I talk about crime and violence in the Arab sector, it is not enough to explain crime in the light of economic factors and attribute it to the living situation and the role of the police only, because – in my opinion – the recent years in our Arab society have witnessed an exacerbation of a state of frustration and despair among young people, and they account for approximately 30% of these young people. They are from the age group of the generation from 18-24 years, as they have no ambition to work for, nor a future vision to strive for.

In my opinion, a state of frustration among this age group results from the development of a new system in our midst, which is the system of competition over financial resources, titles, prestige, and influence. Arab society, this leads to great frustration among large segments of society, especially those who did not get anything but crumbs, and the biggest evidence of this is the fierce competition of Arab families in the elections of local authorities.

Some families and groups formed the so-called illegal capital formation through the seizure of local authorities, thus becoming the largest operating body for each country, either in the hands of a large family or in the hands of a group of beneficiaries, and this in itself led to acts of violence in the recent period, and the consequences of this phenomenon are specific to society. Arab led to increased frustration among young people as a result of the appropriation of resources.

Fourthly-

The item related to and related to violence within the family and against women: Here we must note that there has been a major renaissance shift that has taken place within our society among women in terms of increasing the number of years of education and the involvement of part of them in the labor market.

There is no doubt that women in our society are not traditional and do not live on the path of ancestors, fathers and mothers, and this transformation often leads to a large gap between what the husband expects of his wife and the non-traditional state of renaissance liberation experienced by Arab women, which leads to quarrels that end in acts of violence against Women.

And I conclude with those who try to scold women in the name of religion, reminding them that whoever understands religion more deeply will not find anything in it that covers his position, but will find the exact opposite. The woman and her capabilities, and it does not result in a negligence in other duties entrusted to the woman towards her husband and her family.

This is a summary of Islam’s position on women’s work, so that the bidders and the ignorant of the Islamic law will stop holding this great religion unjust attitudes towards women, as they portray it as a religion that is hostile to women’s rights, and imposes iron walls around them….

Unfortunately, this narrow vision of women’s movement in life still dominates the minds of some men in our Arab world, and it is an unjust vision that has nothing to do with Islam and stems from a backward logic in their dealings with their women, far from the teachings and guidance of Islam.