A constant refrain on the Israeli left for decades has been the claim that the key to peace lies in greater dialogue between Arabs and Jews.
Now, a pro-Israel activist group has taken up the challenge, launching a new Arabic division dedicated to conducting dialog with Israeli Arabs – in Arabic.
Boomerang, which produces viral videos and other social media content challenging the anti-Israel narratives pushed by much of the mainstream media, debuted the pilot of a new series of Arabic (with English and Hebrew subtitles) videos.
In the first video, Yitzhar resident and Boomerang activist Tzvi Succot heads to the Old City of Jerusalem in the wake of last Friday’s deadly terror attack near the Temple Mount, to present in Arabic the question raised by many Israeli Jews after last week’s attack: where are the condemnations?
The question is put bluntly, but also sincerely, asking the residents of hotbeds of Islamist radicalism like Umm al-Fahm – the hometown of Friday’s three terrorists – why Israeli-Arab leaders failed to condemn the murders of three Israeli Druze officers.
“Three of you murdered two Druze police officers near the Al Aqsa Mosque,” said Succot.
“You don’t have even one leader that dares to condemn the murder. Are you crazy? You’re taking advantage of the good heartedness of Israelis and spitting in their face! You know that Israel is the safest place for you. You undergo a security check at the entrance to Bituach Leumi (National Insurance) to get much more than Jews do. And this is how you return the favor? With terrorist attacks? And after you kill police officers you’re still complaining that you have to undergo a security check at the entrance to Al Aqsa?”
While Arab worshippers have protested the recent addition of special magnetometer metal detectors at the entrances to the Temple Mount, Boomerang activists noted that visitors to the Western Wall have been required to pass through metal detectors for years. Even Saudi Arabia, custodian of Mecca and Medina, has installed metal detectors at the Great Mosque in Islam’s holiest city, drawing no comparable uproar.
Arab rioters attacked police across eastern Jerusalem Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, injuring two officers and one Jewish civilian. Palestinian Authority leaders and local Muslim clerics declared Wednesday a “Day of Rage” against the presence of the magnetometer metal detectors outside of the Temple Mount.