Nava, and two children, said
Americans should not object to
Israeli government policy.

"Frankly, I'm not putting my
sons at risk," Bettinger said. "An
Israeli mother sending her sons
into Gaza and into harm's way,
it's her decision and the people of
Israel's decision."
Nava added that the protests
were offensive to those marching
in the parade, who were the true
supporters of Israel, she said.
"The American people have to
side with the government of
Israel. The government of Israel
has to make a decision that is
best for Israel, and we must sup-
port the government of Israel,7
she said.
But orange-clad Joshua
Fogelman, 34, had a more
nuanced message. "Instead of
against the government, we're for
the residents," he said.
After the parade, roughly 1,000
people — far fewer than the
35,000 estimated by organizers
— gathered in Central Park for a
rally and concert to protest the
withdrawal plan. The rally fea-
tured addresses by Israeli legisla-
tors Effie Eitam and Uzi Landau,
New York State Assembly Speaker
Sheldon Silver, New York State
Assemblyman Dov Hikind and
Rabbi Pesach Lerner, executive
vice president of the National
Council of Young Israel, among
others. ❑

`Normal' Crime

Israelis are focusing on a wave of holdups, killings.

DAN BARON

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jerusalem

W

.

ith a lull in Palestinian ter-
rorism holding, another
form of violence is plaguing
Israelis' lives: street crime.
A wave of murders, most with mys-
terious motives, has garnered media
headlines in recent weeks. Last week,
the sense of public fear finally reached
the halls of power.
"As far as I'm concerned, violence —
including road accidents — is one of
the most awful of the phenomena we
witness every day," Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon told his Cabinet as it
convened for its weekly meeting. "We
will take steps and not just talk. I want
us to leave here with solutions that are
put into action."
Israel's police chief, Inspector
General Moshe Karadi, briefed the
ministers on a troubling trend: The
last five months saw a 34 percent
increase in murders over the same

period last year, with youths account-
ing for a greater share of the violence.
Sociologists and criminologists
attribute the phenomenon to a variety
of causes — deepening poverty and
disparities between sectors of society,
the pressures of Israel's tenuous securi-
ty situation, and even media depic-
tions of violence.
Some see it as inevitable that the
Jewish state join other Western nations
with similar social ills. "For four decades,
Israeli society has been proud of its very
low levels of criminality," said Haifa
University sociologist Aryeh Ratner. "It
could be said that we, as a society, are
just undergoing a normative change."
As far as Karadi is concerned, action
is needed. He asked the Cabinet to
boost budgets for the national police,
which is currently more than $125
million in debt and faces 2,000 job
cuts after Israel completes its looming
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Sharon ordered the personnel cut-
backs halted. "Don't let any policemen
go," he told Internal Security Minister
Gideon Ezra. "If needed, I'll put this
matter to a Cabinet vote."
Ezra was also appointed to lead a
new interministerial committee that
Sharon has asked to design an anti-
crime program within three weeks.
As far as the police are concerned,
Israel could do worse than follow the
example of New York, which has seen
crime reduced to historic lows. "A cop
on every corner would work miracles
for public order," Yossi Sedbon, head
of intelligence in the Israel Police, told
Army Radio.
Ratner disagreed. "There is no
quick-fix solution," he said. "Crises are
part of Israeli society, and we will con-
tinue to be a violent society as long as
these crises persist. That's not opti-
mism, but it's reality."

❑

An Israeli policeman checks the handbag of a prostitute near the diamond exchange
Photo by Brian Hendler/JTA
in Tel Aviv.

Am.aweTdmg
Israel's Critics

The Charge

The U.S. friendship and alliance
with Israel promotes terrorism in
the Middle East and elsewhere in
the Islamic world.

The Answer

There is never, ever any justifica-
tion for terrorism, which is the
deliberate targeting for political
purposes of innocent men, women
and children for death or injury.

— Allan Gale, Jewish Community
Council of Metropolitan Detroit

6/ 9

2005

31