Rock throwing is not a problem faced just by Jews in Judea and Samaria, or even in Jerusalem. It's now a problem in many cities throughout the country, with the latest incident occurring in Beit Shemesh. According to a resident who spoke to Arutz Sheva, Arabs attacked his family's home with a barrage of stones Friday afternoon, causing them to take cover for fear of a potential “lynch.”
“Arabs threw three good-sized stones into our living room on Friday afternoon,” said the resident of an older neighborhood in Beit Shemesh. “One of them hit a pergola on our porch as our children were playing under it.”
Although the resident didn't see the Arabs, he told Arutz Sheva that it was very possible that they lived in the neighborhood too – as several Muslim families had recently moved into town. “I was told that these are Arabs who cooperated with Israeli intelligence and were evacuated from their villages for fear that they would be killed,” the resident said. “We are beginning to feel as if we are living in a town in Samaria,” because of the presence of the Arabs, he said.
One of the problems with having Arabs in the neighborhood was that they tended to have large extended families coming to visit, sometimes staying for extended periods. “They play Arabic music loudly through their loudspeakers, and they harass Jewish children and families, including families belonging to the 'Garin Torani' religious community in this neighborhood,” the resident said, adding that he and others in the neighborhood had gotten used to cursing and other harassment. “But rock throwing is something new. A red line has been crossed,” he said.
Most families in the neighborhood do not let their teenage daughters out of the house at night, the resident said, for fear of the Arabs. Parents usually accompany their children to bus stops and often wait with them, to ensure their safety. Several “serious incidents” have occurred involving Jewish children and Arab teenagers, the resident said, declining to supply details.
The resident said that he called police after his home was attacked. Three days later, however, police have not responded, and have yet to send a detective to take details of the incident. The resident added that it was strange that the incidents he described have not been reported in the media, considering how interested reporters were in a previous incident that occurred in the city, where hareidi men were accused of spitting in front of schoolgirls. “If they are so interested in Beit Shemesh news, here is a story they should really be telling,” he said.