Fists thrown while waiting for ride home
High school students beat Arabs from Neve Shalom
Member of joint Arab-Jewish cooperative village claims Arab pupils returned home with swollen, bruised faces. 'Since Cast Lead, there is tension that leads to violence,' he says. Regional council: Comprehensive clarification being carried out at school
Neve Shalom residents reported a large fight that broke out Sunday between Arab and Jewish students who attend Kfar Menachem's Tsafit High School.
"The Arabs were beaten just because they are Arabs," claimed a resident of Neve Shalom, whom the students turned to for help. Neve Shalom is a joint-Arab-Jewish cooperative village next to Latrun built around the idea of coexistence.
Tsafit High School is a regional high school that many of the Arab youngsters from Neve Shalom attend. "The pupils who beat them up were Jews who are not from Neve Shalom. In the end, the youngsters who were beaten up and returned home with swollen faces are being suspended from school," said to Ynet the Neve Shalom resident, recounting what he heard from the children.
According to him, "Up until this school year, this school was a glowing example of symbiosis among students from different sectors. Beyond this, friendships were formed between Jewish and Arab students."
However, ever since Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, the atmosphere has changed. "There is tension and a souring of relations. It starts with slurs and escalates to violence. Today it crossed that line," he said.
Those injured in the fight, students in the 9th and 10th grades, needed medical attention because of the swelling in their faces, especially around their eyes, that were caused by the punches they received.
"All day, two former students who were kicked out of school wandered around the grounds and no one made them leave the school grounds," claimed the man, who himself works in education. In the afternoon, when the students waited for their ride home, these same two came to the area and started mocking the Arab students. Then a fight broke out and students from other towns joined in, adding the provocation."
Neve Shalom residents would like to know if all the students involved in the fight have been suspended from school, or if only the Arab students are being punished, and thus, discriminated against. They would also like to know why the former students were not dealt with in the morning before their presence on school grounds became a problem.
"The village council is meeting to deliberate and come with a clear stance to the school in order to receive explanations and answers," said the Neve Shalom resident.
Head of the Yoav Regional Council Rani Treinin was updated on the details of the event in the evening. He responded, "The school's faculty is holding a comprehensive clarification of the incident." He noted that the community police officer involved in the event will be thoroughly addressed by him.
