Mayor of Arab town hopes stabbing terrorist attack won't change relations between Arab and Jewish neighbours
If the victims, or one of them, were Druze, this story may have further tragic twists
This morning while I was watching a movie with my granddaughter, an Israeli Arab was stabbing two Israeli Jews in a shopping center in Karmiel. In a manner that reminded me of the stabbing death of Ari Fuld at Gush Etzion shopping center frequented by Jews and Arabs, one of the seriously injured victims in Karmiel shot the terrorist dead before he could stab anyone else.
The terrorist was from Nahf, a Moslem town next to Karmiel. Nahf residents as well as those of other nearby Arab towns frequent the shopping center in Karmiel and interact on various levels with their Jewish neighbours.
News reports say that both victims are in their 20’s and one of them died of his wounds and the other remains in serious condition. Unofficial reports on social media suggest that both of the victims were soldiers, at least one of them, if not both, Druze. It is not clear which of them killed the terrorist, nor which of them died. (UPDATE: the identity of the murdered soldier, who apparently was the one who killed the terrorist , was released; he was 19-year-old Sgt. Aleksandr Iakiminskyi from Nahariya.)
There is the claim that the terrorist set out on his rampage, supposedly because his sister, who works in the mall, had been harassed there by soldiers. It is not clear if this supposedly happened on the day of the attack or was in revenge for something she said happened before this. Perhaps it is true, yet it is also possible that the sister and a soldier were in conversation, something that in conservative Moslem society would be sufficient to be considered a serious sin on her part, hence, perhaps an attempt to allay punishment (honour killing?) by the harassment assertion. This is ENTIRELY speculation on my part. But when we only hear partial stories, we need to consider all possibilities and keep an open mind. The only sure thing right now is that Javed Rabie stabbed two people in a shopping mall.
According to news reports, members of the terrorist’s family were arrested. Some of these were in the mall at the time and others were home in nearby Nahf. Arrested? Let me speculate here again: perhaps it would be more appropriate to use the term, apprehended for questioning. Were they aware of what Rabie was planning to do beforehand? Do they know of possible accomplices? Were they possibly accomplices themselves?
Another possibility suggested by a friend who lives in Karmiel is that they may have been taken into custody for their own protection. After all, the Druze are not as shy as Jews when it comes to taking revenge, such as demonstrated in the revenge attacks following the murder in Jenin of the teenage Tiran Fero from Daliyat el-Carmel.
The Nahf council chairman was quick to respond to the incident. Below the video is his statement in English:
This is a disappointing incident and I send my condolences to the family. This is an event that we denounce in the strongest terms. We maintain positive neighbourly relations with the Jewish population in Karmiel. We feel like one family and we hope that this will not ruin our relations and we need to maintain our connections from even before the war. This is an isolated incident that does not reflect on the town. There is anger in the town toward this terror attack if it does turn out to be a terror attack. There are other rumours going around that I won’t relate in the media because I only want to be honest. To tell the truth, we will get our information from the Defence Ministry. Then we will talk.
In response to questions put to him by an unknown journalist, he said that he does not know the young man but he was surprised because the family does not seem to be one that would produce a terrorist.
Perhaps you are interested in a few “X” responses to this attack:
What Elly does not seem to understand is that there is no checkpoint between Nahf and Karmiel or any other place in Israel because Nahf is in Israel. But the point is well taken regarding checkpoints between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
And here is a Turk who shows us that all of Israel is occupied territory:
And now this:
“Complicated” is an understatement.
We have to wait to see how this will play out.
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There is almost never any good news, is there? :-(
The Israel-haters are open about what they want--all Jews in the country should die. This should be followed, in their view, by the deaths relatively shortly thereafter of all Jews elsewhere. That's what we are up against.
The Jew-haters will always hate, and we live with it. The opposing ideologies that led to two deaths are connected to the idea that it is okay to hate, even kill Jews. It is taught in those UNWRA schools, and it is fed by the Iran beast.
So, yes, there would be an interesting twist if the uniformed one turned out to be a Druze. They are a closer tribe than the "Palestinians," and they value honor.
Thank you for mentioning the "Mensh," Ari. He was a friend to many, and always a friend of the IDF.