Minister Frej wants to reduce violent crime among Israeli-Arabs

• Author: LAHAV HARKOV
• Published date: 07 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Frej and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, both of Meretz, visited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah this week. Frej ascribes great importance to that visit and bolstering ties with the Palestinians, and part of the mechanisms for doing so are under his authority at the Regional Cooperation Ministry.

But the burning issues in Israeli-Arab society, in the week in which the 100th murder of an Arab by another Arab took place, are the highest priority for Frej.

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"It's very important to me; I dedicate most of my time to it. Before I can deal with regional cooperation, I need quiet at home. If my house is burning from the inside, how can I cooperate regionally?" Frej asked during an interview in his Knesset office.

Frej hails from Kafr Kassem, which he called "the Tel Aviv of Arab society." But there was also the 1956 Kafr Kassem massacre, in which Border Police killed 48 people, and the policemen involved in the shooting served only a year in prison. Frej's grandfather was injured and his great-uncle killed.

"I grew up with this pain," Frej said. "The pain led me to be a partner that believes in civil rights for Jews and Arabs, so that this will not happen again. It brought me to go hand in hand and have a shared destiny with Jews."

But Jews, Frej said, should also recognize that their fate is tied up with that of Arabs.

"The thing that most threatens the stability of the government is not dealing with violence and crime in Arab society," he argued.

Frej lamented the "anarchy" in Arab society, saying: "Being the strongest pays. It's the law of the jungle."

And while he encourages his fellow Arabs to take responsibility, he sees the government as having a central role in remedying the situation.

"We need governance and law and order, not the continued abandonment of Arab society. We are 1.7 million people who deserve personal security, and it is the country's responsibility to give it to them, like in any normal democracy," he said.

Frej expressed hope that this government will address the problem seriously, and said he believes that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett views it as a priority, since he took it upon himself to lead the committee to combat violence in the Arab sector. He encouraged Bennett to have more Arab experts contribute to formulating the solution, either himself or others.

As for the...