Eleven people were arrested in Lod overnight between Sunday and Monday amid what police called a "disruption of the peace," following clashes between Jewish and Arab residents.
The clashes turned violent, with several people wounded before they were broken up, local news outlets reported. All 11 of those arrested were released after questioning.
“I am seething with rage,” Lod Mayor Yair Revivo said in a statement to the media after the clashes. “A group of extremists arrived from outside the city this evening to stir up trouble. They advertised their activities online and swept up about 20 local boys with them. After the police forces dispersed the group that came from outside, the local boys returned to their homes in a frenzy, shouting insults in front of the homes of Arab residents. In response, Arab residents came out, and a violent fight broke out.”
Revivo also told local news outlets that he had contacted the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and requested immediate help to prevent further unrest in the city.
Mordechai David claims Lod residents asked him for help
Among those involved was far Right activist Mordechai David, an associate of far Right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir with a strong social media following. David posted about the night’s events on Instagram, reportedly stirring up support for his cause, a move Revivo took issue with.
In a follow-up statement on Instagram, David alleged that Lod residents had reached out to him for help after a series of attacks on Jewish residents by Arab residents, the scale of which he did not specify.
In response, he joined a group of locals marching through Arab neighborhoods in Lod, singing Jewish songs such as “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The people of Israel live”). David said that his group did not instigate the violence and was merely walking through the neighborhoods to assert its presence as Jews in a non-threatening way.
David was also summoned for police questioning over the incident on Monday, according to a second video he posted online.
The Mossawa Center – The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel also blamed the violence on right-wing instigators.
“The events that took place tonight in Lod, led by professional provocateurs, some of whom work for right-wing parties, are a worrying sign of Netanyahu’s intention to escalate tensions in the mixed cities in order to prevent an orderly transfer of power,” the organization said in a statement.
All parties wish to avoid a repeat of the May 2021 riots in Lod
In their statements, both Revivo and David referred to the events in Lod in May 2021 during Operation Guardian of the Walls, when extremely violent riots tore through the city.
“Why should we, the residents of Lod, allow someone like Mordechai David to enter our city?” Revivo said on Sunday, according to local news outlets. “We were moments away from things spiraling out of control, a repeat of the ‘Guardian of the Walls’ events.”
David appeared to respond to the mayor in his second video. “People approached me and said, ‘Let’s organize an event next week with 500 or 1,000 people and go into their neighborhoods,’” he said. “And I told them no. That’s the kind of event that could genuinely, God forbid, drag us into another ‘Guardian of the Walls.’ We’re not going to get dragged into excessive provocations. But it was important to come and make a statement about governance,” he said.