A Jewish man, his Christian common-law wife and their 20-year-old daughter set off a riot Friday night when they entered a Nazareth church known as the Basilica of the Annunciation and set off firecrackers. They chose this method to protest what they feel is the welfare authorities' "snatching" of three of their four children.
Israeli-Arab leaders were quick to blame the attack on the government and Jews of Israel. "We see the Israeli establishment as directly responsible for this incident," said Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement's northern faction.
MK Michael Eitan (Likud) has asked for an investigation of statements by police, media and Arab MKs, which, he said, "turned this tragic incident so easily into a campaign of incitement against the Jewish People and the State of Israel."
Chaim and Violet Habibi and their daughter Odelia, 20, entered the church two days after the couple's youngest child, a baby boy, was taken from them by welfare authorities who sensed an immediate danger to his life. The family does not have a permanent home, but has turned down repeated government attempts to help it find housing. They have not seen at least one of their other children, a teen-aged boy living with a foster family in Samaria, for five years. Their latest attempt to see him was thwarted earlier this week.
After warning a welfare worker of an impending "catastrophe," they entered the crowded church with firecrackers hidden in a baby-carriage and began lighting and throwing them. In the ensuing melee, 15 people were lightly hurt, and some worshipers attempted a near-lynching of Habibi. Hundreds of Nazareth residents quickly gathered at the scene, screaming, "Death to the Jews!", burning a police van and injuring four policemen with rocks.
Despite the clear personal nature of the incident, and the fact that two of those who attacked the church were Christian, the Jerusalem Post published a series of statements by Arab leaders blaming Israel and the Jews. These included statements - some of them apparently exclusive to the Post - by Nazareth Mayor Ramzeh Jaraiseh, Arab MKs Azmi Bishara, Abdel Malik Dehamshe and Ahmed Tibi, and Higher Israeli Arab Monitoring Committee chairman Shawki Khatib.
The Post quoted Mayor Jaraiseh as telling the paper, "We object to the forgiving attitude that the Israeli system has toward all the [Jewish] inciters. Look at all the calls for transfer [of Arabs outside the country]. As long as the swamp of racism exists, frogs grow in it. The swamp must be dried out. And it's possible to do that."
Similarly, the Jerusalem Post reported the following:
"MK Dehamshe of the Islamic Movement told the Post that it had become acceptable to attack Arabs and their holy sites in Israel. 'The State of Israel raises its Jewish citizens on hatred of Muslims and the religious sites of both Muslims and Christians,' he said. 'The Muslims and Christians are not [considered] equal to the Jewish citizens. You can kill them and destroy their holy sites. It's not a crime. It's easy. It's a culture of hatred. It's Arabs, it's no big deal.'"
The Israeli-Arab Balad party attempted to stir up further unrest by distributing leaflets yesterday in Nazareth calling on Arab residents not to forgive the government.
President Moshe Katzav condemned the attack last night, and the Cabinet discussed the incident this morning. Opening the Cabinet meeting, Olmert said,
"There is something almost ridiculous about the fact that the Moslem public, which is not particularly tolerant of Christianity and its leaders, is heading the protest against an incident that was caused by a strange couple." His remarks set off another storm of angry counter-responses by Arab MKs.
Israeli-Arab leaders were quick to blame the attack on the government and Jews of Israel. "We see the Israeli establishment as directly responsible for this incident," said Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement's northern faction.
MK Michael Eitan (Likud) has asked for an investigation of statements by police, media and Arab MKs, which, he said, "turned this tragic incident so easily into a campaign of incitement against the Jewish People and the State of Israel."
Chaim and Violet Habibi and their daughter Odelia, 20, entered the church two days after the couple's youngest child, a baby boy, was taken from them by welfare authorities who sensed an immediate danger to his life. The family does not have a permanent home, but has turned down repeated government attempts to help it find housing. They have not seen at least one of their other children, a teen-aged boy living with a foster family in Samaria, for five years. Their latest attempt to see him was thwarted earlier this week.
After warning a welfare worker of an impending "catastrophe," they entered the crowded church with firecrackers hidden in a baby-carriage and began lighting and throwing them. In the ensuing melee, 15 people were lightly hurt, and some worshipers attempted a near-lynching of Habibi. Hundreds of Nazareth residents quickly gathered at the scene, screaming, "Death to the Jews!", burning a police van and injuring four policemen with rocks.
Despite the clear personal nature of the incident, and the fact that two of those who attacked the church were Christian, the Jerusalem Post published a series of statements by Arab leaders blaming Israel and the Jews. These included statements - some of them apparently exclusive to the Post - by Nazareth Mayor Ramzeh Jaraiseh, Arab MKs Azmi Bishara, Abdel Malik Dehamshe and Ahmed Tibi, and Higher Israeli Arab Monitoring Committee chairman Shawki Khatib.
The Post quoted Mayor Jaraiseh as telling the paper, "We object to the forgiving attitude that the Israeli system has toward all the [Jewish] inciters. Look at all the calls for transfer [of Arabs outside the country]. As long as the swamp of racism exists, frogs grow in it. The swamp must be dried out. And it's possible to do that."
Similarly, the Jerusalem Post reported the following:
"MK Dehamshe of the Islamic Movement told the Post that it had become acceptable to attack Arabs and their holy sites in Israel. 'The State of Israel raises its Jewish citizens on hatred of Muslims and the religious sites of both Muslims and Christians,' he said. 'The Muslims and Christians are not [considered] equal to the Jewish citizens. You can kill them and destroy their holy sites. It's not a crime. It's easy. It's a culture of hatred. It's Arabs, it's no big deal.'"
The Israeli-Arab Balad party attempted to stir up further unrest by distributing leaflets yesterday in Nazareth calling on Arab residents not to forgive the government.
President Moshe Katzav condemned the attack last night, and the Cabinet discussed the incident this morning. Opening the Cabinet meeting, Olmert said,
"There is something almost ridiculous about the fact that the Moslem public, which is not particularly tolerant of Christianity and its leaders, is heading the protest against an incident that was caused by a strange couple." His remarks set off another storm of angry counter-responses by Arab MKs.