While almost every area of Israel came under fire from Iranian ballistic missiles during the recent war, for the country’s Arab citizens the massive warheads presented yet another, equally acute, threat alongside a wave of violent, deadly crime in their communities. With a severe lack of public and private bomb shelters, the double threat faced by some 21% of Israeli society came into sharp focus over the five-week war.
“In many places, there are no shelters,” said Naif Abu Sweis, a political activist and lawyer from the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Ramle. “In the past, there was little awareness of the need for protected spaces. Today, people are much more aware of its importance.”
Greater vulnerability
Despite the greater awareness, mainly drawn from a similar experience during the 12-day war with Iran last June, the non-stop missile fire this time highlighted their vulnerability even more, with direct hits in Arab towns such as Zarzir, west of Nazareth in the Galilee, and Kafr Kassem, not far from Tel Aviv, causing injuries and property damage.
“People built homes without safe rooms – unless the construction was a government project, where a safe room is required,” Abu Sweis said, alluding to the struggle Arab Israelis face in obtaining building permits in the country.
“Why do the authorities not give permits?” he asked, arguing that part of the problem is due to a government failure in addressing some of the core issues in the Arab sector. “The government hasn’t promoted planning and construction projects in Arab towns for years. This neglect is also one of the reasons for the shortage of protected areas and shelters.”
A report by Sikkuy-Aufoq and Injaz, two organizations working to amplify Arab voices in Israeli society, noted that – based on data from the State Comptroller’s Office – that out of 12,000 public shelters in the country, only 37 were located in Arab towns and villages; of those, eight were totally unusable for various reasons.
The survey also noted that nearly half, 41%, of Arab citizens said they did not have a shelter or protected room at home, compared to only 11% among Jewish Israelis.
Abu Sweis said the shortage was especially severe in older neighborhoods in cities such as Ramle and Acre, near Haifa. He said it was time for the government, and the Home Front Command, which is responsible for protecting the Israeli public, to provide shelters for all those who do not have them.
“It is their responsibility to ensure people’s safety,” he told The Jerusalem Report.
No protection
The problem is even more extreme in the Negev desert, where a large portion of the Bedouin population live in corrugated iron shacks and have nowhere to go for protection.
Sliman al-Hawashleh, director of the Council of Unrecognized Bedouin Villages, said when a ballistic missile hit the industrial zone of Naot Hovav last month, “it was very scary.”
“The missile fell right next to us,” he recalled. “People started to panic, some screamed and were hysterical. It was a very frightening situation… You hear the sirens and the explosion, then you see smoke rising from the impact site, and there’s nothing you can do to protect yourself.
“In those moments, you have nothing else you can do, other than pray,” al-Hawashleh said. “You just start asking God that you and your family will not die. You are completely helpless, just hoping to make it through alive.”
In some of the villages, efforts have been made to address the lack of shelter themselves, digging trenches deep in the ground and creating spaces to hide during alarms. But most people, al-Hawashleh said, “simply try to calm their children, telling them not to worry and assuring them that nothing bad will happen, even though they know they cannot truly promise this. Some just tell their children to go hide under the bed or inside the closet.”
Al-Hawashleh said Jews and Arabs in Israel faced the same threats, but “you can see the disparities between us and our Jewish neighbors.”
“Bedouin doctors went to help those wounded in Dimona,” he said, referring to a direct missile hit last month in the southern Israeli town. “There are also good people in the Jewish society… But when it comes to getting support and protection from the state, we are neglected.”
Trying to organize
Yanal Jabarin, head of the public department at the Abraham Initiatives, an organization that advocates for advancing equality and coexistence, said that some local Arab authorities were starting to better organize themselves.
A resident of one of Israel’s largest Arab cities, Umm al-Fahm, he said the response during this war was immediate, with the municipality establishing an emergency hotline providing practical and emotional support to residents. Shelters in schools and community centers were opened, and residents were also directed to take shelter in some of the newer mosques that have underground rooms. Homes built in the city’s newer neighborhoods, he said, usually have safe rooms.
However, he said it was still not enough.
“Elderly people, the sick, or those with disabilities have difficulty reaching the public centers in time, and there is also not enough space for everyone,” he said, adding that there should be better planning for future wars “to ensure that people can be protected.”
Jabarin added that the violent organized crime and almost daily murders in Arab towns and cities also needed to be addressed immediately. The latest figures show that some 78 Arab Israelis have been murdered since the beginning of the year through to the end of March, a sharp rise from the 60 for the same period last year.
“Even before the war, the government and its institutions failed to take meaningful action to address homicides in Arab society,” Jabarin said. “Now, with all attention focused on security concerns, the situation may only get worse.”■