Last update - 01:48 15/02/2005
Like in the Third World
By Nazir Majali
The violent events over the weekend in Maghar were abhorrent and should make any proud Arab feel ashamed. The shame increases when one recalls that this is not the first time, nor the second, that Arabs belonging to the majority group have attacked those belonging to a minority.
It happened in Nazareth, where Christians were attacked by Muslims, although on a smaller scale than in Maghar, and it has happened in other places on the level of larger clans facing off with smaller families. Clearly, not all the Druze in Maghar are to blame - although in this case the attackers were Druze - and it is a fact that many Druze, both in the village and outside it, did what they could to end the pogrom.
A number of Druze families in Maghar even took Christian families into their homes in order to protect them from violent members of their own community. The Christians and Druze of Maghar will never forget the Druze Mukhtar of Maghar, Hussein Ara'eidi, who prevented Christians from being driven out by the Haganah in 1948, saying: "Either all (referring to both Christians and Druze) remain - or all leave."
For the older residents of the village, Ara'eidi laid the foundations for goodwill between all the residents of the village with this act. So what happened over the weekend? Was the reason for the riot really the desire to defend the honor of the Druze community because a Christian youth distributed pictures of Druze girls on the Internet with montages of naked bodies? That is a false claim. First, because the rioting thugs brought no honor to the Druze community. On the contrary, they caused great shame. Second, so far, no corroboration has been found for the claim of the distribution of pictures on the Internet.
But even if we assume that it did happen, there is law and order in this country, and the young Druze men, who serve in the army and police force, should obey the law. Third, even if we assume that we live in a jungle, without a government or law - in that case, the right address would be the parents of that boy, who should have been asked to punish him. But to punish his entire community, to burn dozens of homes and shops, to use arms belonging to the security forces and force the members of the Christian community out of their homes - beyond the racist hooliganism involved, what we had here was no less than a declaration of war.
The Arab street is blaming the Shin Bet, claiming that it is behind the riots. As cynical proof, they note the fact that the most violent attacks were carried out in the presence of the police. The accusers claim that this kind of behavior has an ideological goal: to undermine the image of Arabs in the world and present them as hostile to Christians and seeking to harm them.
However, this analysis detracts from the gravity of the attackers' actions. The truth is that it is mainly economic interests and personal quarrels over money that are behind the events in Maghar. The gang of savage hooligans, who happen to be Druze, decided to make a show of strength. They were supported, and perhaps encouraged, by a group of unsuccessful small merchants, who also happen to be Druze. Armed with various kinds of IDF weapons and ammunition (hand grenades, handguns, rifles, etc.) and with the feeling that the Israel police would not be willing to stand up to them - the fact is that they attacked the police when they finally tried to act - they went out into the streets to remove an entire community from the village. They decided that there is no room in Maghar for Christians and went ahead with their plan.
Even if the public security minister succeeds in achieving conciliation between the sides, many Christians no longer want to live in Maghar. And the question that springs to mind now, after the extent of the attackers' guilt has been clarified, is whether this is an enlightened country.
What is the difference between what happened in Maghar and what happens in Third World countries? How will Israel look in the eyes of the world? Can the government deny responsibility? How will it be able to explain the fact that many of the attackers have served in the army and other security forces? We all should hang our heads in shame - all Arabs, the Druze, the police and the state.
The writer is a commentator on Arab affairs on Arab television stations and writes in Asharq al-Awsat.