Security of Haifa residents - what actions does the municipality take? • Query by Kirill Kartnik

"How does the Haifa municipality work to keep the residents safe?"

Following the severe riots that took place in Haifa in May 2021, city council member Kirill Kartnik submitted a query to the mayor regarding the security of the residents of Haifa.

The residents of the city were affected by the riots

In the query, Kartnik writes:
"In our city, right around the corner, near the city hall and in various locations throughout Haifa, several residents were injured during the riots that took place in May last year."

Kartnick cites as an example one of the severe cases of violence that occurred in Haifa during the riots, in which Benny Salman, a 48-year-old resident of Haifa, was violently attacked by 5 young Arabs.

"Salman was lynched on Allenby Street in Kiryat Eliezer and was hospitalized for months at Rambam Hospital," notes Kartnik, "when he suffers from many fractures in all parts of his body."

3 of the attackers - residents of Haifa

"As a result of the incident, there is currently an indictment against the 5 attackers, Noor Wachd (21), Joan Zabidat (21) and Adam Omar (19), the three residents of Haifa, and against Shadi Mahmoud (24) and Rani Abu Tarif (19), whose place of residence is prohibited from publication The indictment attributes to the attackers the crimes of an act of terrorism, of aggravated intentional damage, willful damage motivated by racism, and an act of recklessness and negligence."

What did the municipality do?

In the query, Kartnik asks to know how the Haifa Municipality deals with such issues on an ongoing basis and whether lessons have been learned from the events of May 2021, from the riots and the acts of violence that many residents of the city suffered from.

Kartnik wants to ask:

• What will be done by the municipality to prevent such situations in the future?
• What is the activity that is done in front of the different populations, when in fact it is our neighbors, that we regularly live next to them, spend time with them, love them, and that suddenly found it appropriate, at that point in time, to "turn around" and identify with the enemy?
• What is the municipality doing as a preventive action, so that something like this does not happen in the next operation? 
• What is the municipality doing against the uprising in the city and in the country? 
• What is the municipality doing about violence by city residents against other residents who are attacked on the basis of their origin, while throwing stones and directing terrible physical violence towards them?
• What has the municipality done so far in this regard?