Changes

In May 2021, as thousands of rockets from Hamas-controlled Gaza were fired at Israel during “Operation Guardian of the Walls,” thousands of Israel’s Arab citizens, especially in mixed cities such as Lod, Ramle, Akko and Jaffa, rose up in open revolt against the state. For days, Israeli Arabs rioted, destroyed synagogues, vandalized Jewish property, even beat and murdered Jews in the streets. The country faced some of its worst internal violence in decades. Arab citizens of Israel, motivated by separatist and anti-Israel tendencies, brought the Palestinian struggle to the Israeli heartland.

In May 2021, as thousands of rockets from Hamas-controlled Gaza were fired at Israel during “Operation Guardian of the Walls,” thousands of Israel’s Arab citizens, especially in mixed cities such as Lod, Ramle, Akko and Jaffa, rose up in open revolt against the state. For days, Israeli Arabs rioted, destroyed synagogues, vandalized Jewish property, even beat and murdered Jews in the streets. The country faced some of its worst internal violence in decades. Arab citizens of Israel, motivated by separatist and anti-Israel tendencies, brought the Palestinian struggle to the Israeli heartland.

International press coverage quickly fit the riots into comfortable categories borrowed from the United States—Jews as (supposed) "racist" oppressors, Arabs as the Israeli version of African-Americans. This narrative, unmoored from any real understanding of the events, has become another exhibit in the delegitimization campaign against Israel. Israel’s supposed discriminatory practices against its Arab citizens, as anti-Israel activists claim the May 2021 riots show, are used as more proof that Israel is a racist and illegitimate state. Therefore, it is essential that the truth of the May 2021 Arab uprising be presented accurately to the international audience.

International press coverage quickly fit the riots into comfortable categories borrowed from the United States—Jews as (supposed) "racist" oppressors, Arabs as the Israeli version of African-Americans. This [[narrative]], unmoored from any real understanding of the events, has become another exhibit in the delegitimization campaign against Israel. Israel’s supposed discriminatory practices against its Arab citizens, as anti-Israel activists claim the May 2021 riots show, are used as more proof that Israel is a racist and illegitimate state. Therefore, it is essential that the truth of the May 2021 Arab uprising be presented accurately to the international audience.

In the international coverage of the events, the nationalist dimension of the uprising was quickly covered over. Some media sources, such as The Associated Press, chose to portray the violence as a result of Arab frustration...

In the international coverage of the events, the nationalist dimension of the uprising was quickly covered over. Some media sources, such as The Associated Press, chose to portray the violence as a result of Arab frustration...