(live here with a shared life) - The "Breaking the Walls" conference, which took place last night (Mon. 21/11/22) at the University of Haifa, discussed the difficult events and riots that took place in the cities involved, including Haifa, during the "Wall Guard" operation in May 2021. At the conference, a comprehensive study conducted by Dr. Roli Rosen from the University of Haifa, with the aim of understanding what are the causes of the outbreak of the incidents and what are the reasons that allowed them to worsen, as well as recommendations were presented for actions that may prevent their recurrence in the future.
National and class tensions and failed urban management caused the worsening and radicalization of the May 2021 events in the cities involved. The conclusion: preparation and preparation ahead of time is required.
At the conference, the question arose as to how the residents perceived the May events that broke out in the joint cities, including Haifa, following the "Guardian of the Walls" operation, and as mentioned, the question was asked what can be done to prevent the recurrence of such events. The participants raised important points that, in their view, caused the tensions on the background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to spill over into the cities involved. Among the things that came up was the inequality between the Arab population and the Jewish population in these cities, the socio-economic gap, the lack of trust in the police, the identity problem, and more.
Failed urban management
One of the most prominent conclusions regarding the triggers for the escalation was the failed municipal management and the lack of cooperation between the parties and the relevant bodies, since, in other involved cities, such as Lod and Nof HaGalil, such incidents did not break out, and the reason for this is that the mayors of these cities decided to close their cities, with the assistance of the police, Thus they managed to prevent the entry of extremist elements from outside the city, something that was not done in the shared cities where riots did break out.
Strengthening urban resilience
At the conference, Dr. Roly Rosen presented the research she conducted and recommendations for promoting urban resilience. In addition, there was a panel chaired by Dr. Keren Sharvit from the Peace Studies and Conflict Management program at the University of Haifa, in which Prof. Rasem Khamaisi from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Haifa participated, Dr. Alex Altshuler from the School of Social Work and an expert on preparedness for extreme situations from the University of Haifa, Shahira Shelbi, a member of the Haifa City Council (served as Deputy Mayor during the May events), Prof. Roni Strier from the School of Social Work at the University of Haifa and the Center for the Mixed Cities Program at the Ministry Welfare and social security.
The stories of residents, municipal employees and activists
The research was done in collaboration with dozens of Haifa residents, municipal employees and various activists in the city who shared their stories as they experienced them during the May 2021 events in the city, and was based on interviews conducted by students from the Conflict Resolution Clinic at the Faculty of Law at the University of Haifa. who greatly expanded the knowledge and circles of information surrounding the events.
"The mayor claimed that this is the role of the police"
The member of the city council, Shahira Shelbi, who worked in the field to calm the spirits during the period, said that from the very first day when the riots broke out in Haifa, she appealed to the mayor to go out into the field and try to do something to prevent an escalation, but the mayor replied that it was not her job, but her job the police to do so. This was also the case on the second day, according to Shelby, until on the third day of the events, the mayor decided to cooperate and form a security guard together with the police.
"The police were instructed not to shoot"
Shelby also said that during the events the police were instructed not to shoot, and that this was a correct and wise decision, unlike what happened in the 2000 riots, when the police were instructed to shoot live at the demonstrators, and as a result Arab Israeli citizens were killed. Shelby mentioned this important point to sharpen the importance of the issue, especially in preparation for the formation of the next government.
Prof. Roni Strier pointed out that during the events there was no contact and communication between the Arab and Jewish social workers in the welfare services, even though the municipal welfare services have a very important role in making the city one that has a shared space.
◄Events should be prepared and practiced as they were in May, as they are prepared and practiced for emergency times in earthquakes and wars • Watch
Dr. Roli Rosen, the editor of the study:
"I don't know if there is an unequivocal answer as to what caused the events of May. It is part of a process, we are part of a broad conflict that also manifested itself in Haifa. It was not an internal struggle in Haifa, it was part of the wider conflict that erupted in Haifa as well. Both the national tensions and Class tensions (social and economic) and this came to the surface. It is possible that there were also organized forces that tried to set the city on fire, there are such claims, but it was not possible to check them."
"The people who were active in the field, including Councilwoman Shehira Shelby, and the citizens who acted to calm and prevent escalation, they had a very important role, which was not talked about that much, but they prevented much more serious disasters that could have occurred".
"The research was based on interviews with 45 people with positions from the municipality and also with residents who were involved. The important conclusion is that the people who were active in the field, including city council member Shahira Shelby, and the citizens who were active and tried to prevent escalation, they had a very important role, which was not talked about that much , but these prevented much more serious disasters that could have occurred. The important conclusion is that one must build an array and prepare in advance and be coordinated with the police and the municipality. One must prepare and practice as one prepares and practices for emergencies in earthquakes and wars. These are the recommendations that we are calling for.
◄Shelby: 'What prevented the escalation of the May events in Haifa, was the local organization of a group of activists' • Watch
City Council member Shahira Shelby:
"One of the things we discovered in the recent events is that what prevented the escalation in Haifa was the local organization of a group of activists and activists who roamed the streets for nights and tried to do several things. To prevent police violence and to try to convince the police not to use violence. To keep the young protesters away from the centers of friction to gather in the neighborhoods and organize the The residents. The second thing they did in Haifa is when the city leadership decided to go out and set up an emergency room and cooperated with the police and people who were operating on the street. As soon as the mayor took command and the police leadership started working with him.
"As if they had arrived at a war zone"
"The police forces that arrived in Haifa on the fifth day of the riots, as if they had arrived at a war zone. I walked around the city and saw buses, I thought that these were extreme protesters that had arrived in the city, but they were actually policemen that arrived en masse. The mayor can decide how her city will look in such events. Two important points are that in cities like Ramla and Nof HaGilil, which decided to close the city gates, no extremist elements entered, neither Jews nor Arabs, and thus they were quiet. What I propose is that what we did at the events be organized in advance - that we suppress who the group will be in the field to calm the spirits, who He will work with the mayor and the police, because you have to understand that as soon as there is a demonstration or there is political tension, tension in Jerusalem or war, it can affect Haifa and you have to act correctly."
◄Prof. Khamaisy: 'National tensions and also class tensions came together' • Watch
Prof. Rasem Khamaisi, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Haifa:
"The events that took place in Haifa, as in the other cities involved in Israel, are the result of existing urban circumstances - social and economic disparities that exist within the city, a lack of horizons for young people who are influenced by the media, from what is happening in the Palestinian-Israeli national space. They feel it inside the city, this is a result of the urban management The failure of cities in which attention is not given to that population. This causes the Arab population to be discriminated against at the national and municipal levels. Regarding the issue of the aggressiveness of foreign parties who came to complicate the situation, I think that such events can be prevented by preparation, because the circumstances of events These have not disappeared, lessons must be learned and prepared. The preparation should be in the establishment of a headquarters that can talk about these issues, there should be the preparation of the police and municipal governments. To try to conduct a policy that enables the creation of opportunities and spaces of opportunity for the population and education face to face and not back to back."
◄ Prof. Sterrier: 'Municipal services play a very important role in turning the city into a shared space' • Watch
Prof. Roni Strier, School of Social Work, University of Haifa, and Center for the Mixed Cities Program at the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security:
"I am bringing a study that has been conducted for 8 years that deals with the management of welfare services in the mixed cities and in general, and deals with the role of the municipal services. The municipal services have a very important role in turning the city into a city that has a common space. I think this is one of the important forces that can stop deterioration, and one of our conclusions is that there should be a regular forum that deals with these questions, both routine and emergency. I predict that there will be more such events, because we do not live in a bubble, there is still an ongoing conflict that is violent, and it has ups and downs, and these cities are centers into which the conflict spills over and it is very important that the local leadership And the municipality and professionals in the city, the social organizations (schools, welfare offices, hospitals) will be mobilized to contain the difficulties of living together in light of the violent events that are happening outside and spilling over into the cities involved."
This conference that follows a biased, crooked and one-sided study and how is it possible otherwise because it was conducted by political parties and extreme left associations of the new Shetel-style fund who were involved in the research and its writing so that it would fit the regular political narratives and while blatantly ignoring - a historical and factual erasure of everything that is not Fits and suits the narrative and the devaluation of the severe violence in the Arab demonstrations in the moshavah, in the lower city and in Hadar, and even terrorist attempts like blowing out windows in restaurants on Jaffa Street, trying to set fire to an entire building in his parking lot in the Vizhnitz neighborhood and more.
In order to nail down the document as "factual" a trend conference is held, also in which the goals are marked and then all around beautify, plaster, compartmentalize and shape the discourse so that it leads to those goals. For example, the reference to the external inciting factors that "arrived in mixed cities" ignores the regular inciting factors in the headquarters of the Arab parties who compete among themselves to see who will incite and extort more and this is no secret, you can see it in their discourse during the election campaigns. The headquarters of Hadash was an agitator that regularly produces violent, anti-Israel demonstrations and only the headlines change. Waving enemy flags, slogans condemning the state / the IDF / and even racism towards Jews cannot be framed as 'activity against inequality' or ' Indignation about an economic situation'. It's just twisted, false and misleading.
While erasing and hiding the truth (Jews who were afraid to leave their homes are simply not interviewed, including in Haifa in Kiryat Eliezer...) these reports carry on with the permanent freezing of the initiated Arab intifada and the hiding of the press of incitement that produces such events - from a violent and anti-Israel discourse from an official and anti-Israeli society in the Arab society inside Israel and the leading and financing of incitement elements Foreigners including funds from foreign countries and with the full cooperation of extreme politics including phenomena of cooperation with Hezbollah for espionage and encouragement, these are not economic results and not even of this or that operation such as 'Breaking Walls' which themselves come after impossible waves of terror against Jews for whom they have no reason. H does not relate, as if the Jews only deserve to remain silent and not respond to any terrorism and provocations against them... They are always the strong side and the Arabs are always the poor and persecuted side. Well, sure - tell that to the dozens of Jews who were murdered in the last months by Arab terrorism.
There are people who attribute the causes of the 2021 riots to the social and economic disparities, and this is a ridiculous reason. The Arab public is a whiny public, even though everyone lives in peace and receives social security and all the rights they deserve. On the other hand, they whine and say that we are deprived enough to be hypocritical
Haifa is a unique city of coexistence
In a place plagued by racism and fascism it is important to preserve this wonderful texture
Not to be dragged after a herd of extremist beasts that rule the country
A conference with a gentle title like "May events never change" which basically says "Dear Jews, what should you do this time so that your neighbors don't break your face again?"
And with conclusions in shekels such as "the Arabs are sad and feel inequality".
come on
Jews no longer accept Westerners in this city and in certain matters even less,
So this is also a blatant lie and again, as always, we are asked to sit down for a conversation as if the nation is a youth movement and think about what we *must* do so that they stop slaughtering us.
just a question
When you say "in a place plagued by racism and fascism" what exactly do you mean?
To your democratic country that gives terrorists standards and university degree funding so they can both kill you and patronize you?
Pull a beam factory out of your eyes my friend, you have no field of vision.