May, 2021, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv: The May 2021 riots were an internal Arab nationalist revolt against the State of Israel, while at the same time, externally, thousands of rockets fired by Hamas and PIJ terrorists in Gaza fell on Israeli cities and population centers.
After two days of internal Arab vs Jewish riots, missiles from Gaza killed a man and his daughter in Lod, after which the riots expanded to Arab gangs going from Jewish house to Jewish apartment, store to store, causing violence. Jews also fought against Arabs, and two were sentenced in Israeli court. Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) reported:
The May 2021 riots exposed Israel’s soft underbelly—thousands of hostile Arab citizens willing to aid Israel’s enemies during wartime. 1
Russel Shalev, writing for JNS and later for Fathom Journal, continued:
The May 2021 Arab riots may be a historical turning point in the relations between Israeli Jews and the Arab minority. Throughout the country, thousands of Israel’s Arab citizens violently attacked Jewish institutions and property, symbols of Israeli sovereignty and Jewish civilians. This violent uprising happened as Israel fought an external war against the Hamas terrorist organisation in Gaza. The intensity and scope of the Arab uprising was unprecedented in recent decades, if not since the founding of Israel in 1948. For many Israeli Jews, the fact that masses of Arab Israeli citizens expressed open support for, and actively aided Israel’s enemies during wartime shattered an illusion of growing coexistence between Jews and Arabs. 2
“Israel Needs to Talk About the Arab Riots of May 2021,” Fathomjournal.org, March 2022.
The Guardian reported at the time:
Shiloh Fried, a resident of Lod, told Israel’s Channel 12: “Gangs of Arab youths are going street to street, burning stores, smashing windows … Jewish families are huddled at home, terrified of going out … Police are nowhere to be seen.”
[…]
Kobi Shabtai, the national police commissioner, said the unrest in cities with Jewish and Arab residents was unprecedented. “We are seeing a situation in the mixed cities that we have never seen before,” he said.
Attacks were reported on Jewish homes in Ramle, near Lod, where cars were also stoned. In the northern city of Acre, a restaurant and a hotel were set ablaze. Confrontations were also reported in the historic port of Jaffa, next to Tel Aviv. 3 [emphases added]
This was a turning point in Israel’s history: Never since the 1960’s had riot control police been used against Arab Israelis. And never since 1948 had Arabs from inside Israel and outside in Gaza joined together in simultaneous attacks against Jews.
Supply Jewish families in mixed Jewish-Arab regions.
