Humiliation, fear as Arab TikTok terror on the rise again in Jerusalem

Recent weeks see resurgence in phenomenon of Arabs filming themselves humiliating and harassing Jews in unprovoked attacks, then uploading the clips to TikTok for likes and accolades.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

Israeli police arrested three Arab men in the last week for physically attacking and harassing Jews on the streets of Jerusalem and then uploading the clips of the assaults to social media platform Tiktok.

Dubbed “TikTok terror,” recent weeks have seen a resurgence in the phenomenon of Arabs filming themselves humiliating and harassing Jews in unprovoked attacks. The perpetrators freely spread the videos of themselves engaging in criminal behavior, apparently confident that they would not face consequences for their actions.

Last week, two Arab teenagers filmed themselves humiliating an ultra-Orthodox man by forcing him to kiss their feet under the threat of violence.

The video went viral on TikTok, viewed hundreds of thousands of times by users. Ironically, the spread of the video helped police track down the perpetrators, who were subsequently arrested.

In another popular video on the platform, two Arab youth assaulted an ultra-Orthodox man walking in the Shimon HaTzadik (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood, knocking him to the floor in a completely unprovoked attack. The men were eventually detained by police.

However, not all of the assailants who proudly depict themselves terrorizing Jews were arrested.

In one video posted on Twitter by journalist Yedidya Epstein, an Arab driver can be seen speeding through a two-lane tunnel in Jerusalem, making eye contact with a Jewish driver in the lane next to him and then acting as though he is abruptly turning the wheel.

Although the Jewish driver remained calm, the act could have caused a deadly car accident. The perpetrator was not arrested.

“This is terrorism in every sense, and we will do everything [in our power] to eradicate this serious phenomenon,” said MK Itamar Ben-Gvir on Twitter, who is expected to be appointed National Security Minister in the upcoming government.

Shortly before the widespread Arab rioting that took place during the May 2021 Operation Guardian of the Walls Israel-Gaza clash, TikTok terror spiked. Videos showing Arabs beating and harassing Jews in Jerusalem were commonplace and viewed millions of times on TikTok, inspiring copycat attacks as perpetrators received positive attention on the social media platform.