A wave of violent incidents across Israel over the weekend left one man dead, several people wounded and residents demanding explanations from police, who have yet to release basic crime statistics for 2025 despite earlier commitments to do so.
The weekend began Friday with a suspected attempted assassination in the Jezreel Valley. Two motorcyclists were lightly hurt when a car exploded near Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek. Police suspect gunfire triggered the blast. The occupants of the car fled, and investigators are examining whether the injured riders were linked to the incident.
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(Photo: In accordance with Section 27A of the Copyright Law, Amit Shabi, Avi Rezavi, Northern Fire and Rescue, MDA operational documentation)
Hours later in Kadima-Zoran, vandals broke into the Mishkan Shalom synagogue of the Yemenite community on Ben Zvi Street. Worshippers found prayer books torn apart and Torah scrolls thrown to the floor. “They shattered everything inside and tossed the Torah scrolls to the ground,” one congregant said. Another described “hundreds of books ripped into tiny pieces,” calling the damage unprecedented.
Near midnight, thieves broke into the Ayalon fire station and stole lifesaving rescue equipment, including tools used to open vehicle doors after crashes. Israel Fire and Rescue Services said a complaint was filed with police.
In Be’er Sheva’s Park neighborhood, a newly opened jewelry shop was robbed overnight. Designer and shop owner Toni Roitman said merchandise worth about 250,000 shekels was taken. Two weeks earlier, during construction of the store, assailants attempted but failed to rob it. This time, they escaped before police arrived.
Police attributed the repeated break-ins to a dispute involving the owner’s business partner, a resident of a Bedouin community, but Roitman dismissed that claim as “an invention to avoid responsibility.” She said police and municipal patrols “do nothing” to protect businesses.
By Saturday afternoon, violence escalated. Basel Faraoni, 20, of Nazareth, was shot and killed at a car wash in the city. Two masked gunmen entered the business and opened fire, killing Faraoni and wounding an employee. Minutes later in nearby Ramle, three people were moderately to lightly wounded in another shooting.
The killings pushed the death toll in Arab communities this year to 233. Last year ended with 237 homicides. On this date in 2024, the number stood at 222.
In Jaffa on Saturday evening, two men, ages 18 and 23, were seriously and lightly wounded in a shooting near the bustling Clock Square. Police said the attack appeared to be criminal and likely linked to a family dispute.
Tel Aviv-Jaffa city council member Amir Badran, a Jaffa resident, accused the government of neglecting Arab communities. “Tonight’s shooting is a direct result of abandoning the personal security of Jaffa residents and Arab citizens as a whole,” he said. “There is shooting here every night. This violence will spill into Jewish cities if it is not confronted.”
Newly opened jewelry shop was robbed
Despite the surge in violence, police have not published even first-quarter 2025 crime data. The Movement for Freedom of Information said repeated requests have gone unanswered despite earlier promises from police to release the figures.
Police did issue a joint statement with the National Security Ministry on Saturday announcing the launch of Operation New Order, initiated by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Police Commissioner Dani Levi. The operation aims to curb gunfire and the flow of weapons stolen from the Israel Defense Forces into criminal hands in Bedouin communities. Police said nine suspects had been arrested.
Data released last year only after legal action showed crime had risen across multiple categories for two consecutive years. Without updated numbers, it remains unclear whether the police and ministry are meeting their stated goals.
In a July interview last year, Ben-Gvir said he had achieved “what other ministers do not do in 30 years,” while acknowledging crime had not been defeated. “I received a collapsing police force,” he said, adding that he had strengthened it but still had “a lot of work” ahead.