Israeli residents form an armed self-defence organisation

After a series of Palestinian attacks around the nation stoked worries of fresh internal unrest, Jewish residents of a central Israeli community created an armed organisation they claim is for self-defense.

More than 100 people were killed in conflicts between Jewish and Arab residents of the mixed city of Lod in Israel last year, which was a focal point of tensions between the government and police.

In the last several years, I haven’t felt the urge to carry a firearm, although I have people who do.” One of the “security coordinators,” Michael Lichtenstein, says the organisation has weapons and physicians and medics on hand. The group, which is based in the Jewish neighbourhood of Ramat Elyashiv, a hotbed of right-wing religious nationalism, has more than 50 members.

According to inhabitants of Lod, the gang has not been seen on the town’s streets. Organizers claim that volunteers are already patrolling the streets to stop Arab youngsters from harassing Jewish children, but without the use of firearms.

Lod Mayor Yair Revivo has been accused by Arab citizens of the city of supporting the formation of a militia that may attack them.

Some members of the Israeli extreme right see the development as a positive step for the country’s police force.

Knesset member Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism opposition party said: “The obligation and right of a citizen to defend himself takes priority and I have a problem with anyone who thinks these people are criminals.” Rothman moved to Lod from his settlement in the occupied West Bank temporarily in order to, in his words, strengthen a Jewish community threatened by Arabs.

Israel’s hard-right prime minister urged residents with gun licences to arm themselves following the worst assault in greater Tel Aviv in years. “What are your responsibilities as Israeli citizens?” In a video message, Naftali Bennett called for “vigilance and accountability.” “If you have a gun licence, now is the time to use it,” he said.

According to the local Channel 12 news, the number of Israelis applying for weapons licences has skyrocketed.

Amidst the assaults, Israeli forces have launched a series of fatal raids throughout the West Bank that have killed civilians as well as terrorist groups, and some argue that this is just fueling the conflict.

Arab-Jewish tensions are once again growing throughout Israel, and not only in the occupied territories. Lod, a known crime and gun violence hotspot, serves as a microcosm of this trend. It is clear from Rothman’s move that the same hard-core religious Jewish nationalists on the West Bank are bringing the dispute into Israel proper and escalating tensions there.

Israel’s future is at risk for Lichtenstein and other strong nationalists. The fact that Arabs aren’t frightened of the police, that they don’t gather their weapons, and that the army has lost its deterrent are all things that worry him, he says.

As one of Lichtenstein’s supporters, history instructor Chen Masika, put it, “This is a war for the very survival of Jews in Lod and across Israel.” He described the West Bank as “wanting everything, not just Judea and Samaria.”

Arab and left-wing Israeli commentators warn the establishment of militias in Lod would only lead to a new outbreak of violence in the city.

The Arab municipal councilman Fada Shehada questioned how they could coexist if they were trying to scare and scare them away from Jews. Anarchy erupted on the streets of the city last year when Muslims were assaulted, graves of Muslims vandalised, and synagogues set on fire.

It is believed that 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled during the 1948 Israeli-Palestinian War, which marked the beginning of the state of Israel. Arab and Jewish inhabitants of Lod, also known by the Arabic name Lydda, complain the Israeli police aren’t doing enough to keep them safe.

When asked whether his new force would use guns against civilians, Lichtenstein stated they would only do so if the law required it. The group’s supporters claim that the police are often in touch with them.

Revivo’s office and Omer Bar-office Lev’s did not answer to questions for this story.

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