When war ends, violence remains: Arab citizens are still not safe
The war with Iran has subsided—for now. As Jewish citizens breathe a collective sigh of relief and return to their routines, Arab citizens of Israel continue to live under daily threat. But not from missiles. From bullets.
Between January and June 2025, 128 Arab citizens were murdered in incidents of violence and crime. This is not a typo. One hundred twenty-eight lives lost in just six months—the highest number ever recorded for this period, surpassing even last year’s grim tally of 109.
And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. More than 350 others were seriously or moderately injured. Nearly half of the victims were under the age of 30. Violence spared no one: from a six-year-old child to a seventy-year-old man. Entire communities are living in fear.
These are not just statistics – behind the numbers lies responsibility. The Israeli government promised action, pledging enforcement and a crackdown on organized crime. Not only has it failed to deliver, but under its watch violence has escalated. Arab citizens are being abandoned by the very institutions that were meant to protect them.
The recent war with Iran made this abandonment even more painfully clear. During the 12 days of armed conflict, twelve Arab citizens were murdered in criminal incidents, even as they remained exposed to missile fire. In dozens of Arab towns there were no bomb shelters, no warning sirens, no safe spaces. Their government failed them twice—once during wartime, and again in so-called peacetime.
Most disturbingly, eight Arab citizens were killed by police in just six months compared to one such fatality in all of 2024. While stronger enforcement is necessary, these numbers raise grave concerns about the use of force against Arab citizens. Is policing applied equally, or is an Arab life simply worth less in the eyes of the state?
And at the center of this failure stands Itamar Ben Gvir—a self-declared racist, a man who has spent his political career inciting against Arabs, and who now holds the title of Minister of National Security. It is doubtful whether he even wants to protect Arab citizens, let alone has the competence or will to do so.
Under Ben Gvir’s tenure, the number of murders has soared. His response? Photo ops, inflammatory rhetoric, and endless blame-shifting. He has not provided security. He has not dismantled crime networks. What he has done is deepen distrust, exacerbate divisions, and endanger lives.
He must go. Immediately.
A new minister—one who respects all citizens and takes this crisis seriously—must be appointed without delay. Simultaneously, we call for the immediate formation of a functional Ministerial Committee, led by the Prime Minister, to craft and implement a comprehensive national emergency plan to stop the bloodshed.
Arab citizens are not second-class. They are not collateral damage. They are not pawns in someone else’s political game. The state has a duty—moral, civil, constitutional—to protect all of its people. Democracy withers every day it fails to do so and the body count rises.
