http://caledoniyya.com/2008/10/09/acre-riots-and-religious-pluralism/ Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:43:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://caledoniyya.com/2008/10/09/acre-riots-and-religious-pluralism/#comment-1045 Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:22:06 +0000 http://caledoniyya.wordpress.com/?p=1886#comment-1045 I thought I’d post a few clarifications here, just so the picture is a bit more complete.
According to witnesses at the scene, the Arab driver who drove into the Jewish neighbourhood had broken through road barriers set up to separate the Jewish neighbourhoods on this day where no one drives a car, and many children and pedestrians walk freely on the road. The driver was apparently driving very fast and nearly hit two girls. When Jews began to attack him, he escaped into his family apartment, while a rumour was being circulated through the Arab neighbourhoods in Acre, that he was murdered. Apparently, the clerics in the Mosque encouraged the Arabs to riot on the Jews in return.
There is a growing suspicion that these riots were pre-planned, as very quickly large numbers of Arab men entered the Jewish neighbourhoods armed with axes and began destroying Jews’ cars and shopfronts. It is estimated that about 500 Arab men participated. They rioted through the Jewish neighbourhoods yelling “death to the Jews” and “Allahu akbar”, knocking on people’s doors and threatening them.
These riots are not the first time that Arabs in Israel riot during Jewish holidays, and this response of the Jews comes after years of repeated, daily provocations from the side of the Arab population in the so-called “mixed” cities — cities where Jews and Arabs live in very close proximity.
This is the first time in decades that the Jewish population has responded so violently to Arab provocation. It surely marks an escalation in the very tense relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel, as Jews are expressing ever increasing exasperation at the ineffective protection their own government is providing them in their own country.

]]> http://caledoniyya.com/2008/10/09/acre-riots-and-religious-pluralism/#comment-1041 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:41:08 +0000 http://caledoniyya.wordpress.com/?p=1886#comment-1041 [...] an Israeli Arab man who merely tried to drive from one side of the city to the other,' writes Caledoniyya. Posted by Amira Al Hussaini  Print Version Share [...]

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