As thousands attend funeral for slain protester, MK slams anti-Arab bias

Thousands of people attend the funeral for Mohammed Taha, an Arab-Israeli protester who was shot dead by a security guard during a riot in the town of Kfar Qassem early this morning.

Among the mourners is Knesset member Jamal Zahalka of the Joint (Arab) List, who says Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich have failed to address the increasing crime rates in a Arab communities and

“The police are abandoning Arab citizens to gangs of criminal organizations, and there is no rule of law,” Zahalka says in a statement.

The lawmaker says Israel has successfully tackled organized crime in Jewish-majority cites, which left Arab towns and cities more vulnerable to criminal activities.

“Arab cities suffer from severe discrimination, violent crime in Arab society is 50 percent, while police only allocate 5% of their overall budget to fight crime in Arab communities,” he says. No wonder the disparity is so stark, he says.