Have the Israeli Arabs remained silent on Syria?
Israeli media has been posing the question of why we are not hearing any condemnations from Israeli Arabs. By REUTERS In recent weeks, the Israeli media has been posing the challenging question of why we are not hearing any condemnations from the leadership of the Israeli Arabs in general, and the Arab MKs in particular, of the massacre that is being carried out by Syrian President Bashar Assad against his own people.
The question is usually accompanied by the statement that while Israeli Arabs protested vehemently about the killing of 13 Israeli Arabs by Israeli security forces during the “Land Day” demonstration of October 2000, they apparently have nothing to say about over 6,000 Syrians killed in Syria - most of them civilians killed by forces loyal to Assad.
This whole issue is not as straightforward as it might seem at first sight. In the first place, it is not fair to compare someone’s reaction to his own sons being killed by the security forces of the state of which they are citizens - “the only democracy in the Middle East” - to the killing of hundred and even thousands of citizens in neighboring states, none of which are democracies.
Secondly, the Arab-language media in Israel have been dealing with the issue extensively ever since the demonstrations in Syria began, and most of the Israeli Arab leaders have expressed - in Arabic - support for the uprising of the Syrian people, and have condemned what they refer to openly as a massacre, for which they blame Assad, who they say must go. Most of the Arab leadership has strongly condemned Russia for supporting Assad, supports the position of the Arab League, and is opposed to any direct foreign military intervention in Syria.
This does not mean that the whole Israeli Arab community has condemned Assad, or supports the opposition. One Arab MK very candidly told me last week that especially among the older generation of Israeli Arabs, there are many who are not committed to human rights as a basic value, and prefer stability to the unknown, which leads them to sympathize with Assad.
Part of the blame for the Israeli media not being informed about the positions of the Arab MKs on the issue is that the latter have generally declined to participate in talk shows, or to be interviewed live on what is going on in Syria. The reason for this is that they are sick and tired of being placed in these shows and interviews in the position of defendants, and not being given an honest chance to express their positions.