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October 24, 2008
Life after the rioting in Akko
Investment is needed in tourism and other infrastructure.
RHONDA SPIVAK
Akko, or Acre, the mixed Arab-Jewish city in northern Israel on the Mediterranean became the scene of violent riots that erupted suddenly on the eve of Yom Kippur. The riots were sparked by an Arab driver who, according to Jewish residents, drove through a Jewish neighborhood blasting loud music and almost hit several Jewish pedestrians on their way back from synagogue.
Jewish residents viewed driving in the area as a deliberate provocation, as streets are empty of vehicles on Yom Kippur. A group of Jewish residents proceeded to assault the driver, sparking large-scale riots that lasted for five consecutive days, leaving much damaged property and several Arab homes torched.
Israeli police, who arrested at least 27 Jewish rioters and 37 Arab rioters, used water cannons to disperse the crowds. Thousands of policemen were deployed at friction points throughout the city. The driver who sparked the violence has been arrested for reckless endangerment of life, speeding and harming religious sensibilities. He denies that he was blasting music or speeding while he drove through the Jewish neighborhood.
Akko's mayor cancelled the city's theatre festival that was supposed to have taken place over Sukkot, which was a source of income for Arab merchants.
Meanwhile, Jewish hackers broke into a Hebrew-language website and urged Jews to boycott Arab-owned businesses and "deal with Arabs forcefully."
Hezbollah hailed the actions of Israeli Arabs in the clashes as "heroic" resistance against "barbaric" assaults by Jewish residents.
Many observers believe that the violence should be a warning signal for the Israeli government and social organizations to invest more economic resources in mixed cities, and provide economic opportunity for both poor Arabs and poor Jews. If not, similar destruction could spread to other economically deprived mixed towns such as Jaffa, Lod and Ramle.
Although the Akko riots caught everyone off guard, clearly it doesn't take that much to ignite them. Member of Knesset Ephraim Sneh says on his blog that the riots emphasize the need to "[e]qualize the services given to the Arab population ... [and] expand the number of [Arab] university graduates who are offered jobs in the public sector."
In the wake of the violence, the Jewish Agency will be teaming up with Abraham Fund Initiatives to develop curricula dealing with co-existence for Akko schools. It should be ready for programming soon.
Given that the state of Israel is never going to hand over the city of Akko to the Palestinians as part of any future Palestinian state, the only option to calm the situation and prevent further unrest is to improve the quality of life of the city's citizens. Increased investment in tourist infrastructure, which unfortunately is somewhat neglected, could potentially help Arab-Jewish co-existence.
Akko, which has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is blessed with magical attractions, such as the walls of its ancient city, its castles and fortifications, mosques and churches, its underground Crusader city, colorful Arab bazaars, Turkish baths, fisherman's wharf and marina, as well as the beautiful Or Tora Synagogue. Many nations and religious movements – the Cannonites, Jews, Greeks, Romans, the Byzantine Empire, Crusaders, Mamlujkes, Napolean, the Turks and British – have left their unique mark on Akko and, on each return trip, more of the city's treasures are laid out.
Recently, for example, my children had the delight of exploring an underground Templar's tunnel that was used as a secret escape route from the centre of the old city to the port. The tunnel, which was only uncovered within the last decade, was actually used by residents of Akko as a safe place to avoid the Katyusha rockets that fell on the city in the 2006 war with Lebanon.
Yet, despite the fact that Akko has world-class tourist attractions, the city is lacking in high-end hotels and related services. The only English bookstore that used to exist, Steimatsky's, has been closed. The area near the sea walls is known to be a place where drug deals and other criminal activities take place. Few tour groups stay in Akko overnight.
An Arab taxi driver I met actually tried to pretend that he was Jewish, in order to get more business. "I was born in Ha'aretz [Israel]," he said. When I asked where, he said, "In Carmiel," rather than tell me the name of his nearby Arab village. When I told him I knew he was an Arab not a Jew, he answered, "Yes, but if I had told, you wouldn't have wanted to take a ride from me. I have five children to feed."
Investing in and upgrading the tourist infrastructure in Akko will not by any means be the complete answer to Akko's problems, but it would be a step in the right direction.
Rhonda Spivak is a freelance writer who divides her time between Winnipeg and Israel.
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