Two incidents that occurred this month reminded Israelis that Jewish violence can be just as destructive as violence by Arab terrorists. In one incident an explosive charge went off in front of the apartment of a workers committee chairman in Haderas in the other, a charge exploded at the door of Knesset member Eitan Livni’s apartment. In the first case, six children were slightly injured; in the second no one was hurt.
Violence as such is not new to Israel. The times when a Jewish thief was unheard of in the streets of Tel Aviv have long gone. During the past half year there were several cases of protection-extortion rackets. One of them, in Netanya, ended with the killing of five persons in a discotheque. A newspaper expose several years ago charged that an American-style “Mafia” was operating in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Eilat, Former Attorney-General, Meir Shamgar, investigated the charges but concluded there was no evidence to support this contention.
But nobody doubts the existence of underworld networks involved in “classical” criminal activities such as drug smuggling and distribution. The recent incidents differed from past violence in the use of explosives against targets in the political sphere or in the delicate arena of labor relations.
In the case of the explosion at Livni’s home, police reportedly suspect a professional job to speed up payments of debts by the Herut movement to unknown creditors. In the case of the explosives in Hadera, the crime was committed in the wake of a two-week strike at the “Alliance” tire factory which was partly broken by scabs.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EVENTS
The difficult question is what significance these events have Are they just random or do they reflect a rise in “sophisticated” violence? Statistics give no answer, Tel Aviv, which is certainly Israel’s crime capital, witnessed a drop of 2,2 percent in the crime rate during the first six months of this year. However, in the last three months there has been a rise, which may seem marginal compared to New York but is alarming in Tel Aviv.
Four cases of robbery were reported in the greater Tel Aviv area in August, five in September, and eight in October, Attempted robberies were committed 12 times during the first 10 months of this year, three in October alone. Thirteen purses were snatched during September; in October the number rose to 23. The number of reported burglaries rose from $10 in September to 910 in October.
Unlike in the U.S., guns are not sold freely in Israel. One must obtain a license, a bureaucratic procedure which can last several weeks. But the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of gun licensing, relaxed its regulations since the tragic terrorist raids of last year, Self-defense is a good reason for obtaining a gun because as far as the terrorists are concerned all of Israel is a front.
It has become more difficult to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands. However, the main sources of criminal arms are the army’s arsenals. Some soldiers steal and sell guns, ammunition and explosives. In other cases, army arsenals have been robbed. The Civil Guard in every neighborhood has guns and there have been several cases of break-ins at Civil Guard offices.
STILL SAFER ON ISRAELI STREETS
The expiration of the UN mandate on the Golan Heights Nov. 30 is increasing tensions along the Syrian border. However, Israel generally is believed to be in a period of decreasing military tension. In the past, the crime rate went up whenever the borders were calm, and this is what is probably happening now. The police suffer from an acute shortage of manpower which makes criminals’ lives easier. However, senior police officers do not believe that Israel is facing a crime wave.
It is more the quality of life in the Israeli streets-quiet movie houses, safe alleys, clean public places-that they worry about, Israeli streets are still a safe haven compared to streets in New York or other big cities. There is hardly a place in Israel where a woman cannot walk safely late at night, Jewish crime is increasing but it is a long way form the crime rate in the major cities abroad.
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