A silent demonstration outside the Prime Minister’s Office briefly turned violent Sunday morning. But no one went to jail.
The protesters were leaders of Israel’s Druse community, a non-Moslem Arab group that has long pledged allegiance to the Israeli flag. The protesters came to complain, during Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, that the government has failed to keep its promise to cover the financial deficits of their towns.
Tempers suddenly flared and, as the crowd surged toward the gate, police fired tear-gas canisters. Three policemen and one demonstrator were hurt.
Later, several Cabinet ministers came down to talk to the Druse.
They are one of Israel’s two minorities subject to compulsory military service, the other being the Circassians, a Moslem people of Soviet Caucasian ancestry.
Both groups receive preferential treatment, compared to Israel’s 750,000 Arab Moslem and Christian citizens, who do not serve in the armed forces. The authorities prefer to avoid confrontations with the Druse.
The Druse live in villages near the northern Israeli border and, like similarly located Jewish towns, are supposed to receive more grants and lower taxes. The Druse say, however, that most of their benefits exist only on paper.
After the scuffle, the group received a sympathetic ear from Finance Minister Yitzhak Moda’i, Interior Minister Arye Deri and Foreign Minister David Levy.
The ministers listened sympathetically, but the Druse left as empty-handed as they had come.
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