Five Years after May 2021, the Conditions for Eruptions Still Exist

In the nights of May 2021, many Israelis found themselves witnessing something they never believed could happen: Jews and Arabs attacking one another in the streets of Lod, Acre, Jaffa, Ramle, and elsewhere, while the state failed to restore order.

Property was torched, including synagogues. Civilians were assaulted. Neighbors who had lived side by side for years suddenly found themselves on opposite sides of a violent divide. Some called it riots. Others described it as the closest thing Israel had experienced to internal ethnic conflict. Whatever the label, it was one of the most serious domestic crises in the country’s history.

Five years have passed since then. Since May 2021, Israel has endured events far more devastating and traumatic. Yet the distance of time allows us to revisit those days and ask not only what happened then, but what lessons remain relevant today.

The events of May 2021 were a wake-up call. They demonstrated how national, social, and political tensions that constantly exist beneath the surface can converge at a particular moment and ignite widespread conflict between citizens. They reminded us that even in a country where Jews and Arabs work together, study together, provide and receive healthcare together, and share public spaces every day, there remains a parallel reality of suspicion, alienation, and mistrust that can erupt under the right conditions.

May 2021 was not the product of a single cause. It emerged from the dangerous convergence of several factors at once. The backdrop was the violent confrontation between Israel and Hamas. Added to this were the tensions surrounding Sheikh Jarrah and the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, which inflamed national and religious emotions. Social media amplified incitement, misinformation, and calls for revenge. Political leaders too often chose to inflame passions rather than calm them. Jewish and Arab extremist groups actively sought confrontation. In several locations, the police failed to act decisively and effectively to maintain public order.

Yet these factors alone do not explain the scale of the violence. For years, feelings of discrimination, neglect, and exclusion had accumulated in many mixed cities. Alongside important success stories of integration and partnership existed deep inequalities between Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, unequal municipal services, underrepresentation in decision-making processes, and a persistent sense among many Arab residents that they lived in their cities without being full partners in shaping their future.

In some places, these tensions were intensified by Jewish settlers whose mission was to ‘Judaize’ and ‘reclaim’ the space.

None of this justifies violence. No sense of discrimination can justify the burning of synagogues, lynching attempts, or attacks on innocent civilians. Likewise, no act of unrest that does not pose an immediate threat to life justifies live firing at fellow citizens. But anyone seeking to prevent the next eruption must understand how the conditions that enable such violence are created.

History offers many examples. In Northern Ireland, Lebanon, and the former Yugoslavia, communities that had lived alongside one another for decades were eventually drawn into violent conflict. Israel is not any of these places. The differences are profound. Yet the underlying lesson is universal: a shared society does not sustain itself automatically. When nationalism, fear, incitement, extremism, and irresponsible leadership converge at the same moment, even seemingly stable societies can become dangerously fragile.

The past five years also offer a measure of hope. Despite the devastating war that followed October 7, Israel did not experience a repeat of May 2021. That outcome should not be taken for granted.

During those difficult months, organizations such as The Abraham Initiatives, together with local leaders, mayors, educators, religious figures, and community activists, worked to maintain channels of communication between Jewish and Arab communities. We received calls from concerned local leaders seeking ways to prevent rumors, provocations, and retaliatory actions from spiraling out of control. In many places, these networks proved invaluable. They helped calm tensions, counter misinformation, and keep lines of communication open precisely when emotions were at their highest. Most importantly, they demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of both Arab and Jewish citizens have no interest in conflict with one another.

But the structural conditions that contributed to May 2021 have not disappeared. Some have become worse. Inequality remains. Racism remains. Extremist rhetoric remains. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues, with all its human suffering and political consequences. A political horizon capable of reducing tensions remains absent.

For years, mixed cities were treated as a localized challenge affecting a handful of municipalities. Yet Israeli society itself is becoming increasingly mixed. More Arab citizens are moving to predominantly Jewish cities. More Jews and Arabs work together, study together, and share public spaces and services than ever before. This is a positive development that reflects growing integration. But it also means that the resilience of Jewish-Arab relations is no longer a question limited to Lod, Acre, or Jaffa. It is becoming a national challenge.

Fortunately, we are not powerless and some of the lessons of May 2021 are already clear.

First, permanent mechanisms for dialogue and coordination between Jewish and Arab community leaders, activists, educators, religious figures, and local officials must be strengthened. During routine times, such frameworks may appear unnecessary. During crises, they become strategic assets.

Second, governments and municipalities must systematically reduce disparities in services, infrastructure, representation, and investment. This is not merely a question of justice. It is a question of social resilience. Communities that feel respected and included are less vulnerable to incitement and extremism.

Third, the state must ensure professional, effective, and impartial law enforcement during moments of crisis. A police force perceived as politically motivated, discriminatory, or incapable of maintaining order cannot serve as a stabilizing force. Fair and consistent law enforcement remains one of the most important safeguards against intercommunal violence.

Fourth, mixed cities should be treated not as problems to manage but as assets to cultivate. Their success may be the most important test of Israel’s ability to function as a shared home for Jews and Arabs alike.

At the same time, we must recognize that the Green Line does not separate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from relations between Jews and Arab-Palestinians inside Israel. Every escalation between Israelis and Palestinians reverberates within Israeli society. As long as the conflict persists, it will continue to fuel fears, national grievances, and communal tensions among citizens themselves.

Preventing another May 2021 therefore requires investment in equality, representation, shared society, and an uncompromising struggle against racism and extremism. It also requires renewed efforts to address the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which remains one of the central forces shaping relations between Jews and Arabs inside Israel.