On the Jewish New Year in 2000, in accordance with Arafat's plans, riots broke out after negotiations “failed” at Camp David. In parallel with the second intifada, Arab Israeli towns also erupted in violence. The alleged direct cause of the riots was identification with the Palestinians' armed resistance, and the events featured strikes, stone-throwing, burning, attacks on Israeli commuters and families vacationing in the Galilee region, violence against police and security officers, siezures of intersections, and other damaging events that had been unknown in the country since its establishment in 1948. In Nazareth, for example, thousands marched, calling out, “Through blood and fire we will redeem thee Palestine.” In any normal country, the events would be labeled a “rebellion.” In Israel, where we are neutered by our political correctness, the words chosen to describe the events were “riots,” “disturbances” and even “protests.”
The truth is that in October 2000, the country's leaders were faced with an internal Arab rebellion that could have linked up with the bloody one occurring just outside the pre-1967 borders. The snowball was stopped only by the determination of the police and other security forces. The memorial ceremonies Arabs have held since those events reveal their devastating potential. They have never really accepted Israel's existence as a Jewish state, and have not tried to integrate properly into the country. They are only interested in the dismantling of Israel's national symbols and choose to present Israel's enemies as models worthy of being emulated.
The hypocrisy of those who marched and their leaders cries out in opposition to the events of the past year in Arab countries. MK Hanin Zuabi spoke about the “criminals” who were not brought to trial (referring to police who protected themselves and their country) and didn't mention her membership in a party that viewed Syria as the perfect model of Arabic society. Tell that to the thousands of Syrians murdered by Assad's regime.
It is important to feel sorry for each person whose life was taken – and I am not talking about the cause behind the deaths of 13 Arab citizens (and Jean Bechor, the Jew who was killed when his car was pelted with stones while driving along the coastal highway) – but we can only imagine how the events of October 2000 would have ended if they would have transpired in one of our neighboring Arab countries.
For many generations now, Arab leaders have been trying to weaken the authority of the state and its institutions among the Arab sectors. Organizations, many funded by naive Jews, are operating with the aim of weening Israeli Arabs away from feeling comfortable in this country and alienating them from identifying with it. We love to talk about the Arab minority and honoring their minority rights. But the minority must also respect the majority, its symbols and its institutions. That's how Jews behave throughout the world. In addition, the Arab minority in Israel is different than other minorities. It identifies with the Arab nation at large in the region, while the Jewish majority in Israel sees itself, justifiably, in the larger picture, as a minority.
The bottom line is that there are hundreds of millions of Arabs surrounding a few million Jews. The October 2000 riots were etched in Israeli minds as an attempt by the Arab minority to violently join the Arab majority in the region, a move that inevitably endangered Israel.
