Founder of Akka co-existence group blamed for unrest, arrested by Israeli forces

Wednesday October 15, 2008 06:57 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

A Palestinian-Israeli who has worked many years for coexistence between the Palestinian-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli populations in his town was arrested Monday for 'harming religious sensitivities'. Jamal Tawfiq was blamed for instigating anti-Palestinian riots in the town, and charged with the crime of driving his car on a Jewish holiday (Tawfiq is not Jewish).

Relations between Palestinian-Israelis (also known as Arab-Israelis, or simply “Arabs” in much of the Israeli press) and Jewish-Israelis, in Akka (Acre) and elsewhere inside Israel, have been poor in recent years. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the unrest cannot be blamed on one single incident, because there is a lot of tension between the populations inside Israel. Much of this tension, Olmert continued, can be traced to the preferential treatment of Israeli Jews throughout Israel.

Tawfiq told the parliament Committee of the Interior that, "If what I did caused this [four days of rioting in Akka], I am ready to sacrifice my neck right here on this table, on lowered gallows, just to return peace and quiet back to the city of to bring co-existence back to its place.”

He refuted allegations made by some of the rioters that he had been drunk or playing music when he accidentally drove into a Jewish neighborhood on the eve of Yom Kippur. He said that, to the contrary, he was just driving home from work when he made a wrong turn. He said he was extremely apologetic for his mistake, but his apologies did not satisfy those in the neighborhood who were offended by his driving on a Jewish holiday, when Jews are not supposed to drive.

His comments led to the trading of accusations between Palestinian-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli lawmakers, who blamed each other for the violence in Akko.

Police report that 54 people have been arrested during the five days of rioting. They say that there are both Palestinian-Israelis and Jewish-Israelis in custody, but have not said how many of each.

Tawfiq, who helped start a community co-existence committee in Akka, said that he has been misrepresented by both the rioters and the Israeli press. He said he has always worked for coexistence between the indigenous Palestinian population of the city and the Jewish immigrants who came from abroad since the creation of Israel in 1948, displacing and dispossessing the Palestinian population.

Police have extended the detention period of Tawfiq for three additional days, during which they will investigate the charges against him.