Crime and Violence Networks in Arab Society in Israel – An Informative Overview

By Dr. Warda Sada

Introduction

In recent years, public awareness of the phenomenon of violence and organized crime in Arab society in Israel has increased. This is a serious social challenge with wide-ranging implications for personal security, community cohesion, the local economy, and public trust in state institutions. This article seeks to present an informative and cautious snapshot, based on journalistic publications, police reports, and research analyses.

Important methodological clarification:The mention of family names or groups is made as they appear in public sources and does not constitute a legal determination or collective accusation. It does not imply that all members of a family are involved in criminal activity.

Characteristics of Organized Crime in Arab Society

Organized crime in Arab society is usually not conducted as a classic hierarchical “mafia,” but rather as:

• Local family-based networks,

• Temporary interest groups,

• Shifting alliances centered around weapons, money, and territory.

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Activities include, among others:

• Trafficking and distribution of illegal weapons,

• Extortion and collection of protection money,

• Grey-market (informal) loans,

• Drug trafficking,

• Score-settling and inter-group violence.

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Networks and Families Mentioned in Public Sources

Within media coverage and police investigations, the following networks/families, among others, have been mentioned as having a presence in various crime arenas:

• Abu Latif (Galilee): A broad network mentioned in connection with extortion, threats, and weapons.

• Jarushi (Ramla): One of the oldest crime networks, with influence extending beyond Arab society.

• Abd al-Qader (Taybeh and the Triangle): Identified in reports with economic extortion and violent conflicts.

• Bakri (Umm al-Fahm / Wadi Ara): Local networks mainly linked to weapons and armed confrontations.

• Hariri (Lod–Ramla): Activity in drugs, weapons, and territorial control.

• Zoubi (Nazareth and the North): Several separate family-based networks, without a single unified central structure.

• Organized Bedouin networks (Negev): Family groups involved in smuggling, theft, and weapons.

It should be emphasized: this is a descriptive mapping of arenas of activity, not a closed or exhaustive list.

Structural Factors Behind the Expansion of Violence

The literature and reports point to a combination of factors, including:

• High availability of illegal weapons,

• Low clearance rates for murder cases,

• Long-term absence of effective police presence,

• Economic distress, spatial marginalization, and poor planning,

• Erosion of public trust in law-enforcement systems.

In this sense, crime is not only a criminal phenomenon but also a symptom of an ongoing social-structural failure.

Conclusion

Violence in Arab society in Israel is not the product of a “culture” in itself, nor solely of small groups, but primarily the result of a complex system of neglect, weak enforcement, an informal economy, and the absence of sustained institutional responses. Any serious attempt to address the phenomenon requires a broad perspective—legal, social, economic, and political—based on genuine partnership with the leadership of Arab society and its civil organizations.