Druze MK demands top cop's dismissal over Galilee clash

Israeli Muslims cheered from the rooftops when Saddam Husseins rockets landed in Israel during the Gulf War-- Your memory is very selective--As per usual, you're very selective when telling your tales--

This incident is likely the result of Druze anti-Jewish politics, the spread of a rumor that wireless antenae produce cancers. These rumours r current in ther USA in some circles. The Druze were so hepped up about it that only did they destroy the antenae but also organized them selves to resisst police action that they anticipated. I think that the Israelis have a problem--the arabs think they can bend israeli laws by screaming oppression.The in-ur-face poliitics has to be circumscribed.

I thought progroms where something about 100 years ago in europe, not here in israel! all the houses of the jews were burned, they troug why is the media not talking about that!

The deputy foreign minister needs to wait until all the facts are known before he blames the police in this matter.He seems to be very hasty in his judgement, which does not instill one with confidence, should foreign policy matters also be judged so hastily. Interestingly EXCLUSIVELY JEWISH property was vandalized and burnt which gives a different dimension to the troubles.It seems as if an underlying frustration and anger found a suitable flashpoint and rioting ensued, which was directed against Jews.The Druze need to closely examine why people within their community direct anger and hatred toward Jews and need to solve this problem.The police were just doing their job or so it appears.

According to early reports, "firefight" appears to be an accurate term. Let me remind you that a "firefight" involves an exchange of fire between two sides. If some of the Druze citizens of Peki'in did, in fact, fire upon police officers, then this is a serious breech of the law, and something that has not happened in a "Jewish neighborhood".

"Israel is run by conservatives now, and they have no tolerance for loyal Israelis who are not Jews." So, now you're using "conservative" instead of "right". That doesn't change the simple-mindedness of the argument. Israel, in fact, is run by a centrist coalition that includes a variety of viewpoints - most of them quite explicitly non-racist, and some of them Druze and representatives of other minority groups. Again, what happened in Pek'in is about obeying the law, no matter how much you try to turn it into something else.

The assertion that the cause of yesterday's violence is a loss of respect for Israel is as unprovable as is the claim that the cause was loss of respect by Israel or that the cause of terrorism is the occupation. All are assertions, not facts. It's amazing how people need to take their own slogans as self evident truths.

You wrote as usual slipping from police action to "Let the Israeli cannabolism continue!" Here we are back to the same old idea of the Israeli monster again. So, would you serve yourself in a pitta and keep to the point.

"Druze are in fact more loyal to Israel than immigrants from Russia, Ethiopia or India are..." - Haim They are life-long Israelis, and friends of Israel from before the War of Independence. "This is all a racist coup staged by the police." - Haim from Tel Aviv Haim, much about Israel has changed over the last half-century. Israel is run by conservatives now, and they have no tolerance for loyal Israelis who are not Jews. No minor issue could have provoked the reaction seen. Only the gut-level understanding of Loyal Israelis that they are not just 'second class" citizens, but rather unwanted trash.

My own suspicion is that they reacted as they did because of the blatant religious discrimination against them. It has been established that they are loyal citizens of Israel. One need only look at the difference in how they are treated. It is a matter of record that various Jewish groups quite openly flout the law (including attacking the police) with no vaguely similar treatment. It would be difficult to imagine the police saying about a group of settlers: "We didn't enter to educate or make order. We went in to make arrests. We will not allow those who disrupt order to do so as they please."

1. I did not see any where in the article a hint that the Druze have lost confidence in Israel, or that S'derot had anything to do with what they did. That being the case, one must assume his attribution of the loss of faith of a community which serves Israel better than much of the Jewish community (explicitly including putting their asses on the line when they don't have to) can only be another flight of a rather disordered fancy. 2. As to the lack of respect, what they were doing was nothing more than the norm for a number of other sectors of Israeli society (e.g., settlers and hareidi). You question why they didn't file a petition. The easy answer is that the settlers and hareidi have taught them that this is just the way one deals with an unpopular decision of the government. 3. My own suspicion is that they were reacting to the blatant discrimination of the government against them. As the government representative said, "we didn't cpc,me tp educate of amke order. We wenty lin l

No matter what, you're not Jewish. I understand Druze society loves to be loyal to its rulers. However, if this was a Jewish neighborhood, I can guarantee you no firefight would have broken out. Arrests would have been made by using other means and methods. That's ok though, the Druze serve in the IDF and police and they are just as complicit in killing our kids as Israeli Jews. Let the Israeli cannabolism continue!

First Arab terrorists, then Palistinian civilians, then the Druze then gays... then you.

to support the impression that Israeli bullets are marked "FOR USE AGAINST NON-JEWS ONLY"

Quote" Like so many of your claims, it seems to be based solely on what is inside your head, and evidence has shown this to be not a very reliable source." , Show evidence for your claim against Absolute Sweden , Quote " Please cite any evidence... that in any way substantiates your position." , Haaretz quote " ...police officers were attacked by masked men...began firing shots at police and hurled stun and tear gas grenades." , Peki'in bandits even kidnapped a policewoman to exchange for five arrersted locals residsents , Lost of respect leads to attack against representants of Law and Order . The Peki'in suspects are not above Law and Order , How come they chose not to file a petition to court for their fabricated story-diversion of " ... a cellular antenna installed on ... a nearby Jewish community." , Read post # 55 from peqi`in-girl and my posts # 59 and # 62 wich makes posts # 54 and # 65 from Absolute Sweden correct .

"It`s unfortunate that live ammunition was used to quell a disturbance over an antenna..." ...would you be so nice and say a word or two about the fact that the civilians fired on the policemen with live ammunition?

details of the raid to the perps are proof enough

That's an interesting claim - that they have lost respect for Israel because of its stance. Like so many of your claims, it seems to be based solely on what is inside your head, and evidence has shown this to be not a very reliable source. Please cite any evidence, such as polls, interviews or enlistment rates, that in any way substantiates your position.

Hmm... I dunno... perhaps they, thier grandparents, great great grandparents, etc. were BORN THERE! I have no opposition to Zionism or the Right of Return. I do have opposition to racial/sectarian bigotry and second-class citizenship. Hard questions need to be asked all around, but the loyalty of Arab Israelis is something to be cultivated rather than ignored. HTG

However, this is not about loyalty to the state. It's about abiding by the law. Frankly, I find your simplistic - one might call it simple-minded - characterizations of right and left lacking and unconvincing. Certainly some on the "right" are racially intolerant and there is hatred on the "religious right" that is fostered, or at least exploited, by some politicians. But this is no more habitual or characteristic than it is in any other society - both on the "right" and "left", and among Arabs as well as Jews. Further, it is certainly no excuse for Druze youth and their extended families to blatantly violate the law and, if the reports are true, to fire upon police officers attempting to enforce that law, no matter how unwise the means by which they do it are. I also find your characterization of Israeli Muslims' behavior during the Yom Kippur War interesting. I was here at that time, and I don't recall any mass rallying by Muslims in Israel, and certainly no "patriotic enthusiasm". I don't fault my fellow citizens for this, but I certainly don't think that one can claim to be an informed observer - or at least not an honest informed observer - of the situation and maintain such a patently false claim.

-rot and now they put their bets on the enemies of Israel

It's unfortunate that live ammunition was used to quell a disturbance over an antenna...

I think is the attitude of people.why they always take the law in their hands.I've seen here in our area,a few nights ago , someone called 911[small matter of a problem],oh my,fire trucks,police cars,ambulance will come to the scene all at the same time.

Arabs-Israelis leaders coordinating with PLO/PA a gradual to full blown third insurrection by pals and at the same time by Israelis-Arabs in Israel , A plot cooked up with the help of arabised leftists,

"Why can't we all just get along"?

Really dumb!!! Just about every major police department has special hostage rescue teams for situations like this, and almost NEVER start out with swat teams.

Came to police attention during several weeks by a group of 17 individuals from Peki'in against citizens of Peki'in , The police summoned several suspects , the suspects did not appear at the police Station . The police sent officers to those suspects to investigate the said complains , Each Time the police officers were met with criminal violence by those suspects , the suspects also vandalised the police cars , An operation consisting of 200 hundreds special units forces to arrest those suspect Was Leaked and the suspects all masked were already waitng for police , they attacked the police with unsual brutal unrestrained force , the suspects were armed with fire weapons and also with stun and tear gas grenades , During the clashes the suspects kidnapped a policewoman who was exchanged for five local residents who had been arrested , those five local residents took part in the brutal unrestrained violence against police , those five local residents were not part of the said 17 suspects from Peki'in .

As it happens, the Druze are much more stalwart defenders of the State of Israel than the hareidi. They regularly volunteer to serve in Israel's armed forces.

The Bedouins, The Druze, The Arabs, the Christians, what are they all doing in ISRAEL?

'"This is a different morality altogether and your leaning over backwards attitudes are condescending and patronising in treating the Druze as if they were handicapped in some way and less able to conform to the rules than anybody else." Like say the Settlers? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ......You are one cookie short of a bakery dear.

there where already for weeks problems: druz burning cars of jewish familys, trowing handgranates on houses of jeweish familys, also in this story I don't reed that they burned four houses of jewish familys: the children were asleep when the fire started! we lost everything! mayor Hiar know's about this problem and does not do anything about it! its not about the antenna its about us, thats also the reason why the police came with somanny people.... and whats the end of teh story: de druz call them self the victim! where is the victum if almost all the wounded are policeman!

The Israeli Police Force is slowly but surely becoming even more violent than the thugs who threaten our security. There can be no justification for firing live ammunition at an unruly crowd. Of course, when it comes to the "minorities", that is OK. Just imagine the reactions, if the police had used live ammunition at Amona.

It was okay for the Israeli Police to go after young boys and girls in Amona and Chomesh, but when young Druze boys burn an antenna down, they must not be repremandes because it involves the "Zionist" police? Dont get me wrong, I have a lot of love for the Druze people, their comittement to the preservation of the Jewish State and to all of its institutions, but if the feel like Israelis, they must also have to take the risk of being arrested as Israelis, not as a Druze. They committed an offense, and they should be repremanded. Period

Quell surprise,another commision would puld those defending Israel and reward deadly enemies of the State.

... over the police pogrom at Amona?

I don't live in Israel...However, perhaps it is time build housing in Gaza and/or the West Bank for future generations of Arabs. Multiculturalism does not seem to be working. Jew and Arab need a divorce.

The Druze are special people who deserve special treatment. They are not lowlife-arabs, the druze are the elite of all humans. They eat only the most delicious fruits, grown specially for them in the gardens of eden and drink only from the fountains blessed by angels. When they fart beside you, be happy and priviliged to smell the flowers of eternal salvation.

Druze are in fact more loyal to Israel than immigrants from Russia, Ethiopia or India are... this is a fact. This is all a racist coup staged by the police.

to tell the world: Arabs inside Israel are a threat and a population exchange does make sense.

Please read the Related articles to see how the Druze minority is being treated. Some Druze might proclaim that they are not Arabs and hope by that to be treated differently when it comes to property and civil rights. These incidents bring them back to reality faster than they can say "me?".

"a druze village is not a hezbollah camp, yet still the police has to negotiate as if swapping prisoners to get their man back and release the suspects." This really strange coming from a New Yorker! How many hostage negociations are conducted every day in New York and throughout the USA? Also, the article says: "a policewoman became trapped in a Druze house of worship and was protected by a retired Druze policeman from the village." So, no one took her a hostage, and a retired Druze policman protected her! If you send a bull to a chrystal shop, don't shed tears when things start shattering left and right. Try to think of the cause and not the effect!

Did you read this bit? "During the clashes, a policewoman became trapped in a Druze house of worship and was protected by a retired Druze policeman from the village. She was later released in exchange for five local residents who had been arrested, following several hours of negotiations between police and community leaders" When a policewoman is exchanged for five criminals then it's not 'picking a fight with everyone not Jewish'. These are circumstances that wouldn't, shouldn't have arisen with for instance, a group of dossim or settlers, or even those who work in the shouk ha Carmel. This is a different morality altogether and your leaning over backwards attitudes are condescending and patronising in treating the Druze as if they were handicapped in some way and less able to conform to the rules than anybody else.

"The Druze are generally loyal to the State and friendly to Jews." - Tosefta As Israel has drifted ever to the right over the last 40 years the habitual racial intolerance of the right, and the blatant hatred of the religious right which the political right both fosters and protects, have clearly reduced the loyalty of Israel to it's non-Jewish citizens. I remember well how Israeli Muslims rallied to help in any way they could when Israel was attacked in the Yom Kippur War. Would that patriotic enthusiasm be so pronounced today? Why not?

believe me, police forces are similar all over. Have you seen the Americans cops in action ? --It isnt pretty ! Israel is no different. Having said that, i agree with you

israeli police biggest morons in the country must beg druze forgiveness and i applaud them for smashing the antenna.

Good reported should make sure he/she gets the right name..not one that is waaaaay off.

I should maybe know...but tell me...have there ever been a Palestinian nation?? in the Middle east? I don't think so right??

do these villagers think that they are autonomous? this is the stupidest thing i've ever heard. a druze village is not a hezbollah camp, yet still the police has to negotiate as if swapping prisoners to get their man back and release the suspects. the druze are certainly behaving like the hezbollah, at least in this situation. the non-jewish population in israel has to recognize the authority of the state and its law before demanding anything. this is simply the fundemental idea of a state - respect for law and authority.

to "preserve Jewish values". Is killing the only Jewish value left?

but live ammunition will be used on Arabs, Druzes, left wing Jews and anybody else. 'We will not shoot our own'.

Being civilised is not always a matter of such easy definition. Placing an antenna in a village is not civilised behavior in my eyes. Facing living next to an antenna which is protected by the police - who are following orders given them by a state that has allowed itself to be bought by the cell phone companies- is not an easy task. Money = protection and not necessarily civil behavior nor right. Sometimes when faced with this kind of rule of law things can get out of hand. The best way though is to stop using cell-phones. But we are all addicted...and it is killing us.

The Druze are good, loyal citizens of Israel who serve in fighting units and suffer high casualties. They may not be blameless in this incident, but it surely could have been avoided had the police shown better planning and foresight.

In Israel, Jews are treated better than Non-Jews. There are laws that support this FACT. There is no equality in Israel; Jews are considered superior. Police would never shoot at Jews like this.

Your comment is not in place. the subject is a celular antena that was burned by vandals and there must be conciquences of arest. The law must be kept and if the druze think they can riot and take the law to their hand they have a big mistake. If jews will burn the antena the police will act the same there is one law for all!!

Your humanity shines through dearie. In response to a genuinely horrible problem - you wrote your horrible reply. It is about time that Israelis showed you the same humanity and morality that you show others. BUT Regarding the antenna- pull 'em all down !! We need to unplug ourselves from these money sucking cancer causing cellular phone companies. How can we do it - STOP USING CELL PHONES _ - DON"T BUY YOUR TEENS CELLULARS _ DON"T ANSWER YOUR CELLULAR !! We have the power to destroy the cellular phone companies. We just need to take a deep breath and find a public phone instead of picking up the cell phone and lining the pockets of the fat greedy evil cell phone companies. They will give our kids cancer so that they can earn an extra buck without a blink of an eye - after all, who can prove it ?? And even if we could - who has the money and clout to get the cell companies in court? SO STOP USING YOUR CELL PHONES _ IT IS THE ONLY WAY.

Failure of the police to control the situation shows how out of touch they are with the local comunity. Police should be there to serve and protect, not just show up when there is a demonstration. Israeli police should change the way it handles demonstrations in the Israeli-Arab towns and villages, they should also receuite more locals and become community police.

, you mean you would be better off with a hamas government over your head? funny though i just watched tv , and these gaza men were saying they would rather have Israel back, then these thugs of fatah and hamas spliting thier lives. even the anchor ( who hapened to be more from a left leaning party) couldnt believe his ears, as he said "he heard the unthinkable ". Israel is here to stay, pales people never had a gandhi like figure to boost their lives into peacefull mode. you guys tried for 60 years with war and terror, maybe its time to talk peace.

THEY HELD A POLICEWOMAN HOSTAGE FOR HOURS. This is the most important part of the whole article. They have learnt from the Muslim Arabs that anything goes when it comes to Jews. If a policewoman was kidnapped and held for hours in any western country in the world you would have a LEGION of swat teams and DOZENS of arrests with multiple victims both intentional & collateral. Israel however is not allowed to react the way any other country in the world would react because the World would condemn ANYTHING & EVERYTHING THEY WOULD DO starting with Haaretz and their drooling anti-Israel following.

Why did these rioters against the police burn the only Jewish home in the village? Jews have lived in Pekiin without interuption from the time of the Second Temple. They lived their before Islam or Druzism began. Are the current settlers unable to co-exist with the last Jewish home in their town? The fact that they burnt this home indicates that they feel at odds with Jews. If so, they should join their brethern in Lebanon or Syria. As mentioned in the article, many Druze serve in the police force, so the fact that they brought this home into the equation makes it clear that they saw this as a conflict with the Jews. They can serve in a militia or police force and drink Turkish coffee in Lebanon too. No need for these settlers to remain in Pekiin.

After seeing the way these "YASAMNIKIM" 'work', I am personally not sorry that they met their Waterloo last night. Let them taste a bit of their own medicine for a change. When I first saw one I throught that Hilter's Germany had arrived here. Those BLACK uniforms they wear with most of these men, bald headed, like 'punk skinheads' charging into crowds that are generally not armed. Not much difference and the Duze community learnt how to deal with them early this morning.

To make it looklike Israel is in a precarious condition before the Peace talks in Annapolis, so as to delay the creation of a Palestinian State. Why else did the Israeli Police State create the conditions in which a riot would take place?

Here is a link from the American Cancer Society discussing the effects of cell phones http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_1_3X_Cellular_Phone_Towers.asp?sitearea=WHO

It's October again in Israel and it seems that we haven't learned anything from the similar events that took place 7 years ago - live ammunition, large police presence, sharp-shooters, tear gas, etc, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2000_events_%28Israel%29

I suppose you haven't seen a few years ago how the police evacuated Jewish settlers. No, they didn't use live ammo because the settlers were only passively resisting. Also read #13 to further refresh your memory. Finally, if you care to READ the article you will find these: "a group of young men...fired shots towards the police force and threw stun and gas grenades at them". "Rioters also set fire to the house of one of the few Jewish families"... How do you suggest that the police should act when confronted with such situation?

"violence is emblematic of Arab and middle eastern culture, ..." You prove yet again that YOU don't belong to this part of the world! "we must educate them about the benefits of the rule-of-law, and that if you have a problem don`t resort to violence like civilized people." You want to educate them? Name the country of your origin and I will give you a glance into its violent history! It is funny to hear people, especially westerners, talking about using non-violence to resolve disputes - only to see them use violence to attack other people & countries EVEN when their actions are against international law. Let me know if you need real examples, but I'm sure you are well aware of Europe's crimes against humanity in Africa, Asia and the Americas!

In order to avoid clashes at least one of two sides must be smart. Antena cannot cause cancer. And even if it could the phone near the ear is much more dangerous than antena far away. Don't druse use telephones? (Perhaps they should not be allowed?). The stupidity of police was its inability to realize that residents of Pekiin could be so stupid.

The Druze are generally loyal to the State and friendly to Jews. The police should take this into account and try to avoid high handed behavior. If the police knew that it would take 200 policeman to carry out the arrests, then going thru with this procedure was simply foolish and asking for trouble. As the Mayor says, the police should have summon their suspects to the station for interrogation, and arrest them there if necessary. Had they not shown up, a call should have been made to the local leader to bring them in. No need for riots.

Did you see a radiation antannae among Heryzlia Pituah villas...?

Thanks for raising this point, Shlomo from Tel Aviv. And to Seth: yes, the Israeli police beat Haredi, and they also beat students during student demonstrations last year, but isn't there a difference between 'beating' and 'shooting' (with life ammunition)?

it's understanble that most people don't want an antannae (radiation) on their home, but the violence is emblematic of Arab and middle eastern culture, we must educate them about the benefits of the rule-of-law, and that if you have a problem don't resort to violence like civilized people.

"Palestine" ... there is a Palestine, Texas. And another city called that in Florida I think... are those what yo are referring to ? Because there IS NO OTHER Palestine THAT I KNOW OF

I suspect you have not seen the way police responded to haredi riots in MaeSharim recently in the spring of 2007 and fall of 2006. They beat the rioters with horses. There was no need for rubber bullets, the rioters were'nt throwing rocks, just burning trash cans.

There are alot of Druze in Israel than Christians and Ethiopian Jews.

They would never dare to use live ammo had they confronted riots of Jews, of ultra-Orthodox, for instance. The events should be investigated and those responsible punished.

There's no such thing as "Palestine"- not "occupied" and not "unoccupied". But there ARE cellular antennas that endanger those of us here in ISRAEL.

Who is in controle on the ground, the police or the sheiks? where is the law and order?

but for the sake of monopolies...

There is no room for negotiation. Simply put, you are an interloper with no real rights in Israel. It is time you accepted that fact.

Unfortunatley there is a terrible unified phenomina in all arab villages that the police enter in force -in order to carry out the law. MASSIVE JOINT TRIBAL VIOLENCE AGAINST THE POLICE -not only this incidence but all down the years in israel. This is the core root of middle east levantine life. Village civillians attack and fight the law /police with weapons . The Arab MK'S immediatley scream get out of the villages -THEY ARE NOT AUTONOMOUS AND MUST COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF ISRAEL. Jordan. I WILL NOT VISIT THERE TO BUY ANY MORE SOAPS -LAWLESS VILLAGE.

Cellurar antennas in residential areas is sign of irresponsibility.

Also ban all settlers like you from all occupied Palestine.

Peki'in is a pleasant village most of the time and includes a hostel for hikers in the north. It used to be home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in Aretz Yisrael (whose history is on display at the Yad Ben Zvi). Hopefully this unfortunate violence will be resolved soon.

It isn't just the Druze areas.