ARARA — Israel’s brittle relationship with its Arab minority is under strain after a deadly Tel Aviv shooting rampage this month allegedly by an Arab man from the north of the country.
The New Year’s Day attack deepened Jewish suspicion of the Arab community, which is suspected of divided loyalties, and has drawn attention to the inequalities that help fuel Arab-Jewish tensions.
“All Arabs are being blamed for the attack,” said Said Milhem, 60, a distant relative of the alleged shooter. “If you are an Arab today, you are a target.”
Israel’s Arab citizens, ethnic Palestinians who remained in Israel following the 1948 war surrounding the state’s creation, have for decades maintained a tenuous relationship with Israel’s Jewish majority.
Arab Israelis and their lawmakers often take part in protests supporting Palestinian causes that at times turn violent. Unlike Jews, most Arabs do not serve in the country’s military. They face discrimination in the workplace and housing market, and their towns suffer from poor public services and infrastructure.
The deadly Tel Aviv attack on a cafe in the heart of the coastal city was allegedly carried out by Nashat Milhem, a 31-year-old from the northern town of Arara.
The shooting spree stung Israelis, not only because of its brazenness but because it touched fears that the country’s 1.7 million Arabs, one-fifth of the population, could emerge as a threat from within.
The manhunt for Milhem reinforced those concerns. In contrast to Palestinian assailants from the West Bank, he was an Israeli citizen who worked at a greengrocer’s in a Tel Aviv neighborhood and knew the lay of the land. A frantic, weeklong search caused widespread panic until he was found hiding in his hometown and killed in a shootout with Israeli forces.
Milhem allegedly killed two Jewish Israelis at the cafe in Tel Aviv and an Arab taxi driver.
While the motive for Milhem’s assault was not known at first, Israel eventually declared it to be politically motivated. The attack drew immediate fire toward the Arab community, many of whom condemned the violence and called for Milhem to turn himself in.
Hard-line Israeli lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman, who has in the past proposed that Arabs pledge loyalty to the state, said “there is fertile ground for another Nashat Milhem.” — AP
