Israeli security minister: Arabs have a ‘very violent society’ by nature

“It has to do with the fact that a mother can give a son permission to murder his sister because she is dating a man who isn’t liked by the family,” Erdan said.

By World Israel News Staff

In an interview on Monday with Radio Jerusalem, Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan blamed the Arab society’s inbred taste for violence as the cause for the uptick in attacks within the Israeli Arab communities.

“Arab society, and I say that with sadness, is a very violent society,” he said. “It’s connected to the culture there. A lot of disputes that end here with a lawsuit, there they pull out a knife and gun.”

“It has to do with the fact that a mother can give a son permission to murder his sister because she is dating a man who isn’t liked by the family,” Erdan added.

Arab Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh said, “Instead of taking responsibility for securing the safety of all citizens of this country, Erdan chooses to hide behind racist allegations and shift the responsibility onto the victims.”

“Crime in Arab society is not a product of Arab culture but rather government racism. A minister who sees us as enemies and refuses to protect us from the criminal organizations that obtain the vast majority of their weapons from the military,” Oded said.

Erdan clarified what he meant following Oded’s criticism.

“The main responsibility for the fight against crime and violence in Arab society is of the government and police,” he wrote on Twitter. However, there are cultural norms with Arab society that needs to be addressed, such as “blood feuds, murder in the family of family members, and illegal weapons.”

Israeli Arab communities went on strike Thursday throughout the country to protest what it called “government inaction” in the face of a rising domestic crime wave that has taken at least 70 lives since the beginning of the year.

In September alone, 13 Arab deaths were reported within the Israeli Arab sectors.

The strike was called by the Arab Joint List and the Monitoring Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel after the murder on Tuesday of two brothers, Ahmed and Khalil Manna, who were shot in the Upper Galilee town of Majd al-Krum in a domestic dispute.