Yet Israelis express surprise and disappointment by the demonstrations on the part of Arab citizens, while quickly excusing criminal actions on the part of settlers in the Occupied Territories, and mobs of Jews. Until the Israeli people and leadership come face to face with the daily discrimination directed towards Arabs, then the frustration and violence will continue to grow, erupting from time to time. Until Israel can treat her Arab citizens as full-fledged members of Israeli society, than they should not dictate to them morality and ethics. Until Israel stops dehumanizing all Arabs, whether they are Palestinian Israelis or Palestinians, then we will be seeing more of the same in the future. The only way to end the escalating violence is for Israel, her politicians and citizens, to take a good hard look at themselves and come to terms with the consequences of their attitudes, beliefs, and actions.
Mutual respect is the only way for peace to reign in the region.
Only by immediately ending the continued occupation of Palestinian territories, can the peace process continue. The only other option is the insane violence that we witnessing now. Michael Dahan is an Israeli political scientist, currently conducting post doctoral research at the Political Science Department, University of Cincinnati.