'October's Cry' director: Akko violence was written on the wall
Channel 1 to rebroadcast documentary on death of 13 Arabs during 2000 riots amid continuous clashes in Akko; 'I can understand the anger of the Arab population - justice is not equal,' director says, adding 'peace with Palestinians would ease internal tensions'
"I fear that situations like Akko will continue because we tolerate such an artificial coexistence. On both sides there are instigators, irresponsible politicians, extremist religious leaders who will promote this type of behavior," said Julie Gal, director and co-producer of 'October's Cry', a documentary on the Arab-Israeli riots in 2000 and their aftermath.
Channel 1 will rebroadcast the award winning film on Sunday, October 12 at 9:40 pm to mark the eighth anniversary of the events, during which 13 Arabs and one Jew were killed and hundreds more were wounded when demonstrations staged mainly in northern Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian Al-Aqsa Intifada escalated into fierce clashes with police.
Last January Attorney General Menachem Mazuz closed the investigation into police’s conduct without charging any officers.
"We search worldwide for those who commit hate crimes against Jews, – as we should, but here at home 13 fellow citizens are killed and we have to beg the authorities to investigate and then they find no one guilty?" Gal said.
"The Or Commission (established to investigate the root causes of the riots) specifically wrote in the case of 17-year-old Aseel Asleh (the main character in the film) that the police's conduct was unwarranted as he posed no threat," she said.
Speaking to Ynetnews, Gal noted that both Justice Theodore Or and the late Justice Minister Tommy Lapid "spoke out against the government’s slowness in implementing the Or Commission findings, which highlighted the historic discrimination of the Arab population.
"I can also understand the anger of the Arab population - justice is not equal," she said.
Gal said the Israel Broadcasting Authority publicized the rebroadcast before the recent violence in Akko, but said the clashes between Jews and Arabs in the northern city did not surprise her.
"True coexistence is still artificial, and a slight mistake, innocent or not, by either Arab or Jew can escalate into racial violence. Where were the community leaders to calm the nerves?" the director said.
The violence in Akko erupted after an Arab motorist entered a predominantly Jewish neighborhood on Yom Kippur.
Asked whether she saw any change in the State's treatment of the Arab minority since the October riots, Gal said "Yes, I have seen many reports about greater awareness, particularly by the police, but the bottom line is that the Arab sector is still badly discriminated against by the State when it comes to budget allocation for schools, health, culture, etc. Shouldn’t this be our first national priority if we call ourselves a democracy?"
"How many films do we need about the Bedouins' conditions in the Negev to wake up? Bedouin soldiers, many of them trackers, come back from the Gaza front to the so called “unrecognized villages" with no running water, electricity, paved roads. Isn’t this a time bomb?" she added.
'We must learn about one another'
Gal said she believes the major difficulty in effecting change within the Arab-Israeli sector stems from the fact that many Israeli governments are short-lived and do not put the issue high on their political agenda.
"Late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was truly able to make a difference as far as allotting funds and engaging in dialogue with community leaders. He took a personal interest in assisting the Arab minority; he saw the writing on the wall and had little patience for apathy and bureaucratic roadblocks," she said.
While Gal saw no direct link between the October 2000 riots, which according to her were "more about the Arab citizens expressing solidarity with Palestinians in the territories," to the riots in Akko, she said achieving peace with the Palestinians would "benefit Israel internally and I open doors for better coexistence with the minority citizens."
According to the director, Israel's education system would have to take the lead if coexistence is to improve. "We do not put enough effort into teaching tolerance and respect for all citizens. Jewish and Arab kids must learn about one another, and meet regularly starting at an early age to get rid of the stereotypes," Gal said.
"I am also a believer in some sort of civil service ("sherut ezrahi") for the Arabs. Both sides are paying the price of paranoia. We are too busy being suspicious and playing into a false narrative," she said.
“The late Aseel (October 2000 riots victim) wrote in one of his many emails 'I can never take the word Israeli off my passport or the word Arab - which I am proud of. We can’t change what we are but we can change the way we live'. This is the partner we lost and for whom justice was not served."
