Jerusalem, crime, and the Negev are 'existential challenges' for 1948 Palestinians: Zahalka

Jamal Zahalka, head of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, said in an interview with Al Araby al Jadeed, the Arabic-language sister publication of The New Arab, that Palestinians in Israel are facing "existential challenges".

He cited rampant crime, which he said is devastating their society with complicity from the Israeli establishment; the "major battle" in the Negev over confiscation and uprooting plans; and what he described as a displacement project targeting Palestinians inside Israel, using different tools from those used in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

He also spoke about a planned three-day general strike against Israeli institutions, what he called the "most important role" of Palestinians in Israel in supporting occupied Jerusalem and its residents, and what he described as a sense of helplessness in the face of the genocide in Gaza and Israeli plans for repression against Arab citizens.

The following is an edited version of the interview.

After three months as head of the Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, during a critical period for Arab society inside Israel and Palestinians generally, how do you see the situation from your current position?

The situation is difficult for all our people, including those inside. The issue of crime and violence has become the overriding issue because it concerns perhaps the most important thing for a human being: personal security, living without the threat of killing, bullets, and extortion.

The phenomenon has taken a very dangerous turn across all Arab towns and regions. An entire society is paying a heavy price for this rampant scourge. But we also face other issues of great importance, where we have a key role to play that must be strengthened. We will continue working, whether at the level of our society or on the Palestinian cause.

What work do you mean?

Regarding the Palestinian cause, the most important role for Palestinians inside Israel and the Follow-Up Committee concerns Jerusalem, because we can access it. Accordingly, we have called for people to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially during Ramadan. Many institutions are active in this regard, and the response has been very strong.

We give Jerusalem importance. The first activity of the Follow-Up Committee under my leadership was visiting Jerusalem, where we met Islamic bodies at Al-Aqsa Mosque and listened to accounts of ongoing Israeli incursions and harassment.

We also met political parties, national forces, and officials in Jerusalem, including representatives from the Chamber of Commerce.

Our most important role today, as Palestinians in Israel, is to preserve Jerusalem, support its resilience, and back commercial activity in the Old City, which suffers from serious problems. According to our information, 1,450 shops have closed, of which 420 have been sealed. This is the practical action we can take.

In Gaza, our society collected huge amounts of humanitarian aid, but Israel prevented it from entering. We are in a political battle against the government of criminals headed by Benjamin Netanyahu.

Whatever we do, we will remain falling short in the face of the genocide in Gaza. A feeling of helplessness and inability accompanies our society, and me personally. I am truly pained when I evaluate what we have done and what we have not.

We are in a unique political situation inside Israel. Israel had plans and preparations for a very heavy-handed repression if protests occurred, especially those that closed streets. A state of emergency was declared, meaning anyone who takes to the streets could face gunfire.

We must not forget the important movements during the "Dignity Uprising" in May 2021, when hundreds paid a heavy price, whether by arrest, imprisonment, removal from work or university, or other forms of impact.

Despite all this, I see our political role as becoming more important in the coming period. We must continue to expose the Israeli apartheid system and call for its dismantling, which is Zionism in the Israeli context.

On the issue of rampant crime, some racists blame our culture. Where are things headed amid the current wave of protests?

The claim that violence in Arab society stems from its culture is a classic colonial and racist argument. Until the mid-1980s, crime among Jews was higher than among Arabs, yet we never accused their culture, despite it being violent.

Also, if the number of killings rises sharply in a single year, does that mean our culture changed and became more violent within a year? Culturally, we are like Jordan and the West Bank; the rate is one death per 100,000.

The rate is similar in Jewish society in Israel, while in the Arab community, it is 15 per 100,000. Why? Because Israeli police, a strong force with tools, suppressed crime among Jews but decided not to suppress it among Arabs or collect the weapons circulating in Arab society, as long as they were not used against Jews or for security purposes.

The issue is that this police force suppresses crime among Jews while feeding it in Arab society through its policies and practices. The main reason for what happens in our society is racial discrimination in crime prevention. The percentage of dismantling crime networks in Arab society is about 15 per cent, while in Jewish society it exceeds 80 per cent. When murders occur in Arab society without punishment, it encourages crime.

There is also an unwritten agreement between crime organisations in Arab society and the Israeli police: the former do not enter Jewish towns. If a Jew is killed, the perpetrator is caught. Meanwhile, the police do not bother them in Arab society. That is the agreement.

A former police official mentioned links between crime organisations and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). Does this explain the situation?

It is known that intelligence agencies worldwide try to recruit those who commit violations to provide information. I know this from what happened after the Oslo Accords in 1993 regarding drug dealers in the occupied West Bank. Israel handed the Palestinian police all criminal files, including murder and theft, except for drug dealer files.

When I asked my university professor, who was an adviser to the Israeli Anti-Drug Association, why, he laughed and said they use them as spies. The police officer's admission at the time confirmed that this was a major obstacle to combating crime. The issue is not only the Shin Bet or the police but also the state and government, which have not decided to suppress crime in Arab society. For example, in Netanya and several Jewish cities, they crushed Jewish crime organisations completely.

In Gaza and the West Bank, there is genocide, aggression, and Israeli displacement projects. Do you believe Palestinians in Israel also face some form of genocide or attempted displacement?

The issue of genocide, including Gaza, must be viewed within the framework of Israeli criminal mentality. The Zionist project was a displacement project, not a genocide project: to empty the land of its people and settle it. Genocide in Gaza occurred because they could not displace people and force them to emigrate. Statements during the war were clear.

This affects us in Israel. Since the beginning of the war, crime in Arab society has worsened for two main reasons: first, the extreme composition of this government, which decided not to combat crime in our society, and second, the minimal effort that the previous government made has been cancelled. Second, after 7 October 2023, the topic of displacement returned to the forefront of Israeli political and security strategies, inside Israel and elsewhere.

After Israel's direct control over Gaza, the number of Palestinians and Jews across all areas became nearly equal. Zionism cannot tolerate this. Since it does not want a political solution or a two-state solution, it follows an apartheid system, which is unstable. Therefore, displacement is seen as the solution. Regarding Gaza, a displacement project is "suspended in the air", waiting for an opportunity, and the same applies in the occupied West Bank. For Palestinians inside Israel, there is also what we can call Israeli satisfaction that crime and violence may push people to emigrate.

We will not leave, no matter what they do. On an individual level, people may flee from killing, and one cannot blame a person threatened with death seeking to protect themselves and their family. But at the collective level, we will thwart this plan, even though Israel creates conditions to make life hell for Palestinians everywhere.

What about the planned general strike mentioned by the Follow-Up Committee? When will it take place?

Recently, there was the first Black Flag march in Sakhnin against violence and crime, attended by tens of thousands of demonstrators, followed by another protest in Tel Aviv with tens of thousands of Arabs and Jews. These large demonstrations will continue in Haifa, Rahat, Umm al-Fahm, Nazareth, and across the country.

We will not stop, leading to an unprecedented three-day general strike. There is widespread public support for this.

We are running an awareness campaign and mobilising for the strike, which has not been set yet, as it is supposed to include all social sectors: all workers, facilities, doctors, pharmacists, engineers, employees, bus and truck drivers, and other sectors.

We have strong representation in sensitive positions. For example, Arab medical staff make up 50 per cent of teams in major Israeli hospitals. Arab pharmacists represent about 70 per cent of the workforce. If we strike, they will feel it, and some facilities will be paralysed.

We are dealing with a government that does not listen to us, but our strategy is to pressure it until it changes its policy while in power. There is a strong possibility that this government will not return in the next elections, which could change policy.

The government could crush crime if it wanted. What can influence it is a strike with economic impact on the state, as well as international pressure. We have begun contacting the UN, the EU, heads of state, and embassies, and we called for disclosure of the economic damage of crime and violence on the Israeli economy, amounting to billions annually. Currently, racist attitudes outweigh economic loss. The government prefers economic loss over combating crime in Arab society.

Crime, in the normal Israeli sense, is not a core nationalist issue—it is not about land, planning, construction, or occupation. Even the current government claims it wants to eliminate crime and violence, but I have never seen a greater gap between words and action. Practically, our demands carry no political cost for Israeli currents. That is why I see a possibility of achieving our goal. Our project is not a protest; it is a project to achieve the goal, and there is no choice but victory in this battle. The victory we want is a safe society free from violence and crime.

Does the government hear you? Have any of its officials contacted you after the demonstrations?

After the car protest on 8 February, which ended in front of the Prime Minister's office, I tried to deliver a letter to the Prime Minister's office but was prevented from doing so. The next day, a Netanyahu adviser contacted an Arab Knesset member and received the letter, but no minister contacted me. Some Israeli officials called and said many things, but I told them the matter is not words; we are waiting for action.

We hope there will be movement. I believe that influencing Israeli public opinion, which we achieved after the Tel Aviv demonstration, will have some effect, and the government cannot ignore this activist momentum.

Do you see Israeli institutional support for crime as a distraction from other pressing issues inside Israel?

We have many important issues that require attention, but crime consumes much of our energy. Another very important issue is the Negev, where residents face intensive efforts to uproot them, confiscate land, and demolish homes. Perhaps this trinity, Jerusalem, crime and violence, and the Negev, represents the major issues for our society at this stage. Our people are waging a major battle in the Negev, and we will not abandon our land, homes, and villages, no matter what.

Despite major challenges, some insist on maintaining the Follow-Up Committee as a coordination body. Could this limit its development?

After my election, I immediately issued a statement of intent. The principles I consider correct for the Follow-Up Committee, and how I will act as its president, include continuity and change: continuing existing matters while introducing new initiatives and maintaining unity. Certain proposals are correct but may harm unity; therefore, they are postponed.

For example, direct elections for the Follow-Up Committee and the question of whether to maintain it as a coordination body are issues we cannot pass up today. The current situation needs improvement. At least at this stage, I see a need to begin an open dialogue within the Follow-Up Committee and society about its structure and whether direct elections are appropriate.

The Follow-Up Committee is an elected body that encompasses all political parties and local authorities. It is no secret that the party I belong to, the National Democratic Assembly, has repeatedly called for direct elections. This issue is currently deferred. Our work continues and develops; we will organise many social groups. Upon my election, I announced my commitment to openness to society and cooperation with all forces. I receive dozens of proposals daily, confirming society's trust in the Follow-Up Committee's leadership and maintaining confidence. Criticism always exists, sometimes very strongly, and that is normal.

Regarding parliamentary elections, the idea of forming a joint Arab list has resurfaced. What is your view?

I am a member of the National Democratic Assembly and proud of this political affiliation. I have held leadership roles in the party, both as a Knesset member and a member of the political bureau. This is a source of pride.

My political beliefs are expressed through the party. Today, as head of the Follow-Up Committee, I work with all political forces in our society and maintain equal distance from all. My inclinations are naturally toward unity. I previously initiated the Joint List and did all I could to maintain it. Some forces within the committee do not participate in parliamentary elections, so the committee has no official position on elections.

It is no secret that I called for a joint list and unity; I have not changed my opinion. As head of the committee, I cannot work on this matter to preserve committee unity and respect parties that do not participate.

Profile

Jamal Zahalka is a Palestinian politician and academic from Arab 48, born in January 1955 in Kafr Qara, Wadi Ara.

He holds a PhD in pharmacy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and lectures at the American University, Ramallah branch.

He currently serves as head of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, elected in November.

He was first elected to the Knesset in 2003 for the National Democratic Assembly and served multiple terms until 2019.

He initiated the Joint List in 2015 and served as head of the National Democratic Assembly from 2017 to 2022.

Israel arrested him in 1972 for two years for membership in a Palestinian organisation. He sat his secondary school exams in prison.

He writes newspaper articles and researches the Palestinian cause and Palestinians in Israel.

Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here.