Holy Land: Campaign launched against 'Price Tag' hate crime attacks

Graffiti on Palestinian home: 'Jews Wake Up!', 'Death to Arabs', 'Revenge!'

Israel-based Rabbis for Human Rights have announced that a new anti-'price tag' attack inter-party campaign will be launched in the Knesset this week. Tag Meir is a coalition of organisations committed to fighting hate-crimes in Israel and showing solidarity with their victims.

'Price Tag' attacks are hate crimes directed at Palestinians by extremist right-wing Israeli Jews, often in retaliation to actions by the state which are perceived to be against the ultra-nationalist agenda. These crimes almost always go unpunished. The words 'price tag' have been found on many Christian buildings - including the Church of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha when it suffered an arson attack last year, and the Monastary of the Dormition in Jerusalem.

Tag Meir say in a statement: "Jamal Yolani, Hassan Aosrof, Hana Amtir, Nimer Sherkaoui, Zuhid Abu Shamri, Shadi Hadar, Moussa Abu Iyad, Kaid Shaviki, Samar Mahfouz, Leila Mohammed, Gnaim Awad are just some of the dozens of Arabs that have been victims of hate crimes, solely for holding an Arab appearance and /or daring to speak Arabic. These victims are joined by hundreds of victims of so called 'price-tag' attacks in the West Bank and Israel, and include five inhabited houses torched in the past two years, 44 houses of worship torched and / or vandalized since December 2009, trees uprooted, hundreds of cars sabotaged. In addition there have been the grisly murders of the Dawabsheh family and Mohammed Abu-Hadir.

"Not forgetting the rise of the hate groups Lehava and La Familia, the arson at the Jerusalem bilingual school, countless books and articles that feed this incitement, the public following of celebs like the "shadow" and viral hate on social networks."

Rabbis for Human Rights say they are a "proud, active member of the Tag Meir Coalition, with staff member Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann sitting on their board, and Rabbi Ron Kronish, senior advisor and acting director of our interreligious department, sitting on the Tag Meir Steering Committee."

For more information see: http://rhr.org.il/eng/2016/05/may-24-join-tag-meir-knesset-launch-new-anti-price-tag-attack-lobby/