The Empowerment of Crime Organizations in Arab Society Feeds the Narrative: "This is the Arabs' culture, Killing Each Other"—A Blatant Lie That Defies the Facts but Serves Political Interests.

This should not be the struggle of Arab society alone. This should be a war for the sovereignty of the State of Israel. When the state relinquishes its monopoly on power and law enforcement in entire parts of its territory, it undermines the very foundation of its existence.

The arguments that "this is how Arabs are" and "it's Arab culture" do not stand up to the facts: the murder rate in Arab society in Israel is astronomically(!) high compared to neighboring countries and entities. It is 13 times higher than in the Palestinian Authority, 12 times higher than in Jordan, and 5.5 times higher than in Lebanon. In Arab society in Israel, the murder rate is 120 per million people. In the Palestinian Authority: 9 per million. In Jordan: 10 per million. In Lebanon: 22 per million.

If the state's duty to protect its citizens and ensure their sense of personal security is not enough, we must understand the implications of the destruction of state sovereignty and the economic and social damage to Israeli society as a whole (not just Arab society). The loss of billions in state funds is funneled directly to crime organizations instead of reaching their intended destination (the general public, both Jewish and non-Jewish), coupled with the loss of 20% of the Israeli economy's potential to create, produce, and be part of the economy, society, and culture. The immense damage is already here and now for all of Israeli society, not just "when the violence spills over into Jewish society." The staggering damage has already been done and is being felt, and we all suffer from it: a lack of sovereignty, enormous economic loss, and the abandonment of the public sphere.

The greatest tragedy is that the state knows exactly how to fight organized crime. In the first decade of the 21st century, Israel waged a comprehensive and successful war against Jewish crime organizations (Abergil, Rosenstein, and others). The state employed a multi-pronged strategy involving legislation, enforcement, and the judiciary; sophisticated investigations ("Case 512"), an aggressive economic war through asset forfeiture, and international cooperation. It worked. The major "Jewish" organizations were dismantled.

The numbers tell a horror story. 2023 and 2024 were the bloodiest years in the history of Arab society in Israel, with over 240 citizens murdered in each of these years. This is no longer a "worrying rise in crime"; it is a complete collapse of public order. For comparison, 66 Jewish citizens were murdered in 2023. This incomprehensible gap is not a statistic; it is evidence of an ongoing state of emergency, a plague that has turned the lives of a fifth of the country's citizens into a nightmare.

But how did we reach a situation where crime organizations de facto run parts of the country? The answer is complex, and it reveals a story of neglect, discrimination, and a resounding state failure.

The Octopus's Tentacles: The Business Model of Crime

The common mistake is to think of crime in Arab society in terms of street gangs. The reality is far more sophisticated and dangerous. The crime organizations operate like parasitic mega-corporations that have penetrated deep into the community's economic and political fabric.

It starts with “khawa” (protection money), which has become a systematic tax imposed on almost every business, from small to large. From there, the organizations moved to the next stage: the black market for loans. In a society suffering from a lack of bank credit, crime organizations have become the main bankers. They offer quick cash at draconian interest rates, trapping families and businesses in an endless cycle of debt.

The culmination of this takeover is the infiltration of public tenders. Through threats, debt extortion, or intimidation of officials, crime organizations win local authority tenders—for garbage disposal, infrastructure, and more. Thus, tax money that was supposed to fund development and welfare is funneled directly into the criminals' pockets and used for money laundering and to fuel their continued growth. This money, in turn, is used to finance the campaigns of candidates in local elections, and so the circle is closed: economic power buys political power, and political power generates more economic power. This is a hostile takeover of local democracy.

Not a "Sectoral" Problem, a National Threat

The crime epidemic did not grow in a vacuum. It has been fed by decades of socio-economic neglect, poverty, unemployment, and a housing crisis that have pushed many young people to despair and into the arms of crime. It grew in the vacuum created by the weakening of traditional authority and the absence of the state.

The solution cannot be just a few more patrol cars or cameras. It must be a profound conceptual shift. The State of Israel must declare a national war on organized crime in Arab society, with the same determination and resources it dedicated to the war on Jewish crime. This means a dedicated task force that will use all available economic and legal tools, in parallel with a massive investment in education, employment, and housing solutions that will provide young people with a genuine alternative.

This is not the struggle of Arab society alone. It is a war for the sovereignty of the State of Israel. When the state relinquishes its monopoly on power and law enforcement in entire parts of its territory, it undermines the very foundation of its existence. The security and lives of Arab citizens are not expendable, and their fate is inextricably linked to the fate of the entire country.

Photo: All this in one day, yesterday:

Yesterday | 22:50 A young man was shot in Tayibe, his condition is serious

Yesterday | 20:08 The man who was shot in Jaljulia has been pronounced dead

Yesterday | 18:53 The young man who was critically wounded by gunfire in Rama has been pronounced dead