MK Issawi Frej
MK Issawi FrejIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation categorically rejected a bill Sunday, whereby victims of "price tag" attacks against Arabs will be recognized and compensated on the same scale as terror attack victims.

MK Issawi Freij (Meretz) proposed the bill, and responded to its rejection by accusing the committee of racism.

"The Committee's decision today is racist, as reiterated by the continued racial discrimination in Israel, in which Arabs do not receive compensation for hate crimes committed against them, unlike Jews," he claimed. 

"Today's decision is part of a policy of discrimination and incitement from the Israeli government, which provides support for 'price tag' terror, and creates a de facto approval of racial discrimination in Israel." 

"Price tag" is a euphemism for politically-motivated vandalism and criminal damage usually attributed to Jewish extremists, carried out either in revenge for Arab terrorist attacks, or in protest of Israeli government policies such as the destruction of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria.  

Leftist MKs consistently condemn "price tag" for giving Israel a bad image, both in local and international press. However, little to no press time is given to  numerous incidents of Arab "price tagging".

In addition, aArutz Sheva report in January revealed that in at least some of the cases, anti-Arab "price tags" were being systematically staged by Arab activists.

It should also be noted that "price tag" incidents generally include graffiti or other vandalism - in contrast to the terror attacks perpetrated by Palestinian Arab terrorists, which aim to injure or kill Jews and Israelis.

The US recently equated the two phenomena in a highly controversial State Department report published last month.