Policemen. 'For the sake of the Arab public'
צילום: חגי אהרון
Police recruit Arabs to boost equality
Israel police have begun to intensively recruit young Israeli Arabs to ranks, encourages them to gain equality through service. Arab leaders strongly oppose initiative
Israel police have launched a large-scale operation in recent weeks to recruit young Israeli-Arab men and women to its ranks, Arab newspaper Sawt al-Haq wal-Hurriya reported.
According to the report, the operation have so far yielded a positive response on the part of the Arab youngsters.
Hussam Masri, advisor to the internal security minister on Arab affairs told the paper that the police have put together a special team dedicated to establishing contacts with young Israeli-Arabs, whether by phone or through personal encounters, in a bid to encourage them to join the police and protect their villages.
The recruitment operation aims at gaining equality for the Arab sector, similar to the way enrollment with the army has helped the Druze and Bedouins in Israel, Masri said.
"We call on the young people to volunteer for the sake of the Arab public, and because the presence of police cars in Arab villages will prevent thefts," Masri explained.
'Equality should be unconditional'
However, leaders of the Arab public, including the Supreme Arab Monitoring Committee and Arab Knesset Members are opposed to the initiative,
Spokesman for the committee Abed Anbatawi said that Arabs should object to the concept tying police service with equality, since equality should be a legitimate and unconditional right.
"If anyone believes that the Druze and Bedouins in Israel receive what they deserve, he is hallucinating. The reality is totally different," he said.
The Monitoring Committee is set to discuss the subject in its next meeting, and will call on all factions and parties to oppose the recruitment.
