David Rudge, THE JERUSALEM POST

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Israeli Arab leaders are drawing up a "blacklist" of grievances, including what they described as fascist and racist phenomena on the part of Israeli society and the establishment towards the country's minority Arab community.

The document is slated to be completed within two weeks and will be submitted to Israeli society, apparently via the Knesset, as well as to international agencies, including the UN and the European Union.

Abed Inbitawi, spokesman for the monitoring committee of the Israeli Arab leadership, said the blacklist would be a compilation that reflected this trend of discrimination, racism and fascism towards the Arab sector.

The decision to draw up the document was taken by the committee after the attack by Jewish terrorist Eden Natan Zada in Shfaram on Thursday in which four local residents, Muslims and Christians, were killed. Zada himself died, apparently after being lynched by an angry mob.

Police are investigating all the circumstances of the incident including the shooting, the lynching, attacks on police and the actions of police involved in the incident.

"This was a planned terror attack and we find it extremely difficult to treat it as an individual action," Inbitawi told The Jerusalem Post. "It marks a certain trend that reflects a growing tendency of fascism and racism in Israeli society generally as well as the establishment towards the minority Arab community," he said.

"We are preparing a blacklist of this phenomena, including laws that we consider to be racist such as the citizenship law that prevents Palestinians who marry Israelis from receiving Israeli citizenship.

"This document will be submitted to Israeli and will also be sent to foreign institutions such as the UN and the European Union. We also intend to raise the issue on the international agenda via the media."

Inbitawi maintained there was no doubt about discrimination towards Arab citizens such as the recent report on health services that showed Arabs received below-average services.

"We are primarily concerned, however, about the trend the exacerbates attitudes of fascism and racism towards the Arab community," said Inbitawi.

"This is something that is directed now against Arabs but which if it is allowed to continue unabated will also affect Jews who believe in democracy and peace.

"We intend to hold a conference at which Jewish peace activists will have a dialogue within us over the issues and how they affect the democratic nature of the State," said Inbitawi.

A senior government official said the pain of Israeli Arabs and the heartache resulting from the attacks in Shfaram was perfectly understandable to Israelis who, unfortunately, had suffered from terrorist atrocities.

"Israeli Arab leaders have the freedom and right to express their concerns, complaints and grievances to the executive and legislative branches of Israeli government as well as to the justice system," a senior official told The Jerusalem Post. "I am proud to say that Israel is a democracy and that Israelis from all walks of life and regardless of their ethnicity can openly express their grievances. This cannot be said for most of Israel?s neighbors."

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