Aan beide kanten lijkt de in meerderheid vreedzame bevolking wel erg veel begrip te tonen voor het geweld aan eigen kant. Begrip voor de positie van de ander, voor zijn begrijpelijke grieven, angsten en frustraties lijkt vooralsnog te ontbreken, en is wel een noodzakelijk onderdeel van vreedzame coexistentie.
Een fermer politie optreden had de gevoelens van onveiligheid en 'het heft in eigen hand moeten nemen' wel kunnen verminderen.
Een fermer politie optreden had de gevoelens van onveiligheid en 'het heft in eigen hand moeten nemen' wel kunnen verminderen.
RP
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The Jerusalem Post
Oct 12, 2008 0:40 | Updated Oct 12, 2008 1:19
Eyewitness: 'This is our city'
The Jerusalem Post
Oct 12, 2008 0:40 | Updated Oct 12, 2008 1:19
Eyewitness: 'This is our city'
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017509804&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017509804&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
It's Friday afternoon in eastern Acre, and outraged crowds are beginning to gather in the Jewish neighborhoods that make up this part of the city.
Two nights of rioting have rocked Acre since an Arab resident of the Old City drove into this neighborhood on Yom Kippur, in what the police describe as an intentional provocation.
Responding to false rumors that the driver had been badly wounded, around 500 Arabs - some armed with axes according to eyewitnesses - then marched into the eastern neighborhoods, chanting "Death to the Jews" as the mob smashed hundreds of cars and stores.
Today, a segment of the city's Jewish population will try to take their revenge.
"This is our city. What happened on Yom Kippur was a pogrom. We had to hide in our own homes and turn off the lights as the mob passed," said Datya Bracha Malka, a middle-aged resident of the city, en route to a demonstration held to protest Yom Kippur's events.
"All of the cars on our road were damaged. Some were flipped over and burned," recounted Herzl Malka, her husband and an independent businessman. "The TV news has swept this under the carpet."
The media are not popular among Jews in Acre, a largely poor Sephardic community, which feels estranged from what they perceive as the left-wing elites who manage the government and the media.
"They [the media] are making out like we are the aggressors. Why don't they come here to speak to us? We've had a Kristallnacht here. You are the first journalist we've seen," another woman said.
The police are universally condemned here as having failed to protect the people of eastern Acre and their property. That feeling has led some of the city's Jewish youths to conclude that they should take the law into their own hands. They do not have to wait long for their opportunity.
Loud Oriental Jewish music blares from a procession of cars adorned with Israeli flags, as thousands march on the main Rehov Ben-Ami, chanting against the police, some shouting "Death to the Arabs!"
Riot police quickly become engaged in a scuffle with a number of youths, as bricks and rocks begin flying in their direction.
"You son of a bitch, he is a Jew!" some of the youths shout at the police, as officers swing their clubs down hard on one of the rioters.
"Enough, you're killing him!" the demonstrators shout.
Meanwhile, a determined group of around 20 youths exploit the distraction to move around the police. Acre is currently littered with police checkpoints designed to keep Jews and Arabs apart. But this group has another goal in mind.
"We are heading toward the house of an Arab who fired on us last night," one teenager says.
A pony-tailed leader quickly emerges.
"Everyone must have two rocks in their hands," he says, and his friends obey, arming themselves with large bricks and stones. The youths take off their T-shirts and turn them into face masks.
An Egged bus passes by and the unmistakable sound of rock hitting metal is heard. The driver screeches to a halt in amazement.
"He's a Jew!" another dominant member of the gang says.
Target misidentified. The driver makes his escape.
As they close in on the house, situated in the northernmost point of Acre, the youths list their grievances against their Arab neighbors. A litany of charges is heard.
"They vandalize our homes. They disrespect our women. They're trying to push us out of Acre. We have to defend ourselves," one says.
Police reach the house first, and officers in riot gear keep the youths far back. The sound of what appears to be a gunshot from the direction of the house shatters the air.
"It's him, he's shooting again!" the youths say.
Suddenly, an off-duty soldier in a baseball cap and a vest walks quickly toward the police line, with an M-16 rifle flung around his shoulder.
"What is he doing? He's crazy," an older man says. "Get him out of here before the mob snatches his weapon and begins firing on the house."
Older men restrain the soldier and escort him away from the front line.
"Death to the Arabs!" the youths shout, responding to the shot. A second shot is heard, and then a third, and a fourth. The sounds send the youths into a frenzy.
Behind them, the thousands of marchers held back on Rehov Ben-Ami have finally caught up, and police realize they are hopelessly outnumbered.
Two police helicopters buzz above, as officers desperately attempt to get more men on horseback and riot police to the scene.
"The mayor has asked you to return to your homes," a policeman tells the demonstrators via a loudspeaker.
The reply comes in the form of a large rock thrown at police lines. More stones and bottles follow.
Losing their patience, police bring in a large white jeep with a water cannon affixed to the roof. The cannon is slowly pointed at the crowd.
"Don't run, it's only water!" one young protester shouts.
But the jet is powerful and blasts the front line of the demonstration, forcing people back. Deafening explosions are heard as police fire stun grenades into the crowd. The demonstrators duck and cover their heads, falling back.
The masked group has already moved on. Finding another Arab house equipped with a closed-circuit TV camera, the youths climb up on the gates surrounding the home and smash the camera.
"Well done. You're our men!" one woman shouts at them.
Older residents of Acre say the youths are out of control. But they say it is all the police's fault for failing to rein in Arab rioters.
"There's no coexistence here," one woman says. "Israel's biggest problems are the Arabs living here. We need an internal army."
Herzl Malka says he worries that Acre's Arabs will enlist the support of other Arabs living in the Galilee.
"They're a majority in the Galilee. They will begin to demand autonomy," he warns.
As the sun sets and Shabbat begins, hundreds gather outside of the Beit Ha'am synagogue to pray. A temporary calm sets in. But if the rumors flying among the residents are true, the quiet will not last.
A group of youths is planning to burn down a number of Arab houses. Acre is far from calm.
Two nights of rioting have rocked Acre since an Arab resident of the Old City drove into this neighborhood on Yom Kippur, in what the police describe as an intentional provocation.
Responding to false rumors that the driver had been badly wounded, around 500 Arabs - some armed with axes according to eyewitnesses - then marched into the eastern neighborhoods, chanting "Death to the Jews" as the mob smashed hundreds of cars and stores.
Today, a segment of the city's Jewish population will try to take their revenge.
"This is our city. What happened on Yom Kippur was a pogrom. We had to hide in our own homes and turn off the lights as the mob passed," said Datya Bracha Malka, a middle-aged resident of the city, en route to a demonstration held to protest Yom Kippur's events.
"All of the cars on our road were damaged. Some were flipped over and burned," recounted Herzl Malka, her husband and an independent businessman. "The TV news has swept this under the carpet."
The media are not popular among Jews in Acre, a largely poor Sephardic community, which feels estranged from what they perceive as the left-wing elites who manage the government and the media.
"They [the media] are making out like we are the aggressors. Why don't they come here to speak to us? We've had a Kristallnacht here. You are the first journalist we've seen," another woman said.
The police are universally condemned here as having failed to protect the people of eastern Acre and their property. That feeling has led some of the city's Jewish youths to conclude that they should take the law into their own hands. They do not have to wait long for their opportunity.
Loud Oriental Jewish music blares from a procession of cars adorned with Israeli flags, as thousands march on the main Rehov Ben-Ami, chanting against the police, some shouting "Death to the Arabs!"
Riot police quickly become engaged in a scuffle with a number of youths, as bricks and rocks begin flying in their direction.
"You son of a bitch, he is a Jew!" some of the youths shout at the police, as officers swing their clubs down hard on one of the rioters.
"Enough, you're killing him!" the demonstrators shout.
Meanwhile, a determined group of around 20 youths exploit the distraction to move around the police. Acre is currently littered with police checkpoints designed to keep Jews and Arabs apart. But this group has another goal in mind.
"We are heading toward the house of an Arab who fired on us last night," one teenager says.
A pony-tailed leader quickly emerges.
"Everyone must have two rocks in their hands," he says, and his friends obey, arming themselves with large bricks and stones. The youths take off their T-shirts and turn them into face masks.
An Egged bus passes by and the unmistakable sound of rock hitting metal is heard. The driver screeches to a halt in amazement.
"He's a Jew!" another dominant member of the gang says.
Target misidentified. The driver makes his escape.
As they close in on the house, situated in the northernmost point of Acre, the youths list their grievances against their Arab neighbors. A litany of charges is heard.
"They vandalize our homes. They disrespect our women. They're trying to push us out of Acre. We have to defend ourselves," one says.
Police reach the house first, and officers in riot gear keep the youths far back. The sound of what appears to be a gunshot from the direction of the house shatters the air.
"It's him, he's shooting again!" the youths say.
Suddenly, an off-duty soldier in a baseball cap and a vest walks quickly toward the police line, with an M-16 rifle flung around his shoulder.
"What is he doing? He's crazy," an older man says. "Get him out of here before the mob snatches his weapon and begins firing on the house."
Older men restrain the soldier and escort him away from the front line.
"Death to the Arabs!" the youths shout, responding to the shot. A second shot is heard, and then a third, and a fourth. The sounds send the youths into a frenzy.
Behind them, the thousands of marchers held back on Rehov Ben-Ami have finally caught up, and police realize they are hopelessly outnumbered.
Two police helicopters buzz above, as officers desperately attempt to get more men on horseback and riot police to the scene.
"The mayor has asked you to return to your homes," a policeman tells the demonstrators via a loudspeaker.
The reply comes in the form of a large rock thrown at police lines. More stones and bottles follow.
Losing their patience, police bring in a large white jeep with a water cannon affixed to the roof. The cannon is slowly pointed at the crowd.
"Don't run, it's only water!" one young protester shouts.
But the jet is powerful and blasts the front line of the demonstration, forcing people back. Deafening explosions are heard as police fire stun grenades into the crowd. The demonstrators duck and cover their heads, falling back.
The masked group has already moved on. Finding another Arab house equipped with a closed-circuit TV camera, the youths climb up on the gates surrounding the home and smash the camera.
"Well done. You're our men!" one woman shouts at them.
Older residents of Acre say the youths are out of control. But they say it is all the police's fault for failing to rein in Arab rioters.
"There's no coexistence here," one woman says. "Israel's biggest problems are the Arabs living here. We need an internal army."
Herzl Malka says he worries that Acre's Arabs will enlist the support of other Arabs living in the Galilee.
"They're a majority in the Galilee. They will begin to demand autonomy," he warns.
As the sun sets and Shabbat begins, hundreds gather outside of the Beit Ha'am synagogue to pray. A temporary calm sets in. But if the rumors flying among the residents are true, the quiet will not last.
A group of youths is planning to burn down a number of Arab houses. Acre is far from calm.
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