Hundreds of Jewish protesters demonstrated against Arab Israeli students near dorms in Netanya on Saturday, with both sides accusing the other of starting the unrest, according to Israeli media.
The Jewish students claimed that Arab students had thrown eggs at children near a synagogue in the area.
הנתייתים מתעוררים.ומה משטרת ישראל עושה?חוסמת את הכניסה ומגינה על האויבים. pic.twitter.com/57YjOPzcC5
— רועי אמגר (@roi_amgar) October 28, 2023
Shortly after the incident was reported, hundreds of people gathered outside the dorms demanding that Arabs be removed from the premises and chanted “death to Arabs” and “all the Arabs out.”
Roi Amgar, the head of the local garin torani (Torah nucleus), posted on X (formerly Twitter), “In Netanya we are not going to give up until they kick out the Arabs who are at Netanya College! The police will not stop us, nor the municipality, nor the state! We demand security for ourselves immediately!”
Amgar wrote that several Arab students played Arabic music loudly near the synagogue and threw eggs at a number of Jewish girls who were playing nearby. The head of the garin additionally posted a video of Netanya residents chanting “Death to Arabs” while police blocked the door to the dorm where the Arab students were staying, writing “The people of Netanya are waking up, and what are the Israeli police doing? Blocking the entrance and protecting the enemies.”
Dorms cleared amid unrest
Israel Police stated that police forces had dispersed the protest, all the students had been taken out of the dorms and no one was harmed. “Israel Police will act with zero tolerance towards any manifestation of violence.”
Netanya Mayor Miriam Feirberg-Ikar announced that she had spoken with the president of the college in Netanya and that the dorms would be emptied on Sunday morning. She also stated that Israelis evacuated from southern Israel would be housed in the dorms instead.
Likud MK Eli Dallal expressed support for the decision to clear the dorms, posting on X "We are in tense days with a lot of anger and stress, and at the same time we must all show restraint and not heat up the field. I trust the police to bring the rioters to justice."
Alon Lee-Green, co-director of the Standing Together movement, posted on X during the incident that it was “horrible. As dozens of Arab students are hiding inside, hundreds of Jewish far-right activists try to break into the dormitories of Netanya College, shouting ‘death to the Arabs,’ and are guarded by the police who do nothing to evacuate them. They heard that there were Arabs there and simply came to storm the place. It's happening right now and getting worse every minute.”