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Eden Natan Zada. His killers may never be brought to justice. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners September 22, 2005 |
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| The mob surrounds the bus even after Natan-Zada's body was removed. (AP) |
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Five years ago, just after the beginning of the violent Palestinian uprising, Arab citizens of Israel rioted, killing one Israeli Jew, injuring many others, and attacking Israeli Jewish passersby and cars. Since then dozens of Israeli Arabs, many of whom prefer to call themselves "Palestinians with Israeli citizenship," have been involved in suicide bombings, shootings, and kidnappings of IDF soldiers.
Haifa University, responding to the perceived dangers, published a warning in a document entitled "Special Security Instructions," distributed among the university's foreign students. The document warns: "It is prohibited to travel to the West Bank and Gaza; refrain from entering Arab population centers in Israeli territory, including east Jerusalem and the Old City."
The Association for Social Advancement (ASA) in Haifa was outraged, and issued a statement of protest: "This is blatant incitement against the Arab population by an academic institution that is supposed to educate for democracy, equality and tolerance. The document not only sheds light on how the university views its Arab students, it also shows how it treats them."
After ynet broke the news, the university said it would change the document's wording following Ynet's inquiry into the matter and complaints made by Arab human rights groups: "We apologize for the anguish that was caused to the students. The document was drafted during the October 2000 events, when guidelines for foreign students became stricter. We have instructed the Foreign Students Department to revise the document."
Some 3,000 Arabs are enrolled in Haifa University, about 13 percent of the student body. Unlike Israelis of the same age, they do not serve in the army.
Attorney Nasser Nasrallah, representing the ASA in Haifa, complained: "It is not enough to say, 'Sorry, we made a mistake.' Action must be taken so the foreign students will know that there is an Arab population in Israel. Arab neighborhoods in Haifa are also Arab population centers."
Meanwhile, Channel 10 reported Thursday evening that Israeli police, responding to "orders from on high" of the northern district, are refusing to arrest participants in the lynch of Eden Natan-Zada, believed to have killed 4 Arabs on a bus in the Israeli Arab town of Shfaram in July.
Even though the lynch was filmed, and police were actually on the bus, they are apparently afraid to publicly proceed against the lynchers of Natan-Zada, although they admit that many of their identities are known. The police refusal to act against the killers is reportedly related to the upcoming anniversary of the October 2000 riots, and the recently released police report which declined to take disciplinary action against any of the officers involved in the killing of 13 Arabs involved in the rioting.
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