The murder rate in the Arab-Israeli community has risen to the third worst in the developed world, research from the Taub Center showed.The Taub Center findings showed the stark rise in the number of (non-terror) murders and the rate at which they happened.In 2023, there were 233 murders in the Arab community, compared to 109 in 2022. In Jewish communities, murders also increased from 38 to 66 in the same period.
Former national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took over the role in December 2022 and faced a slew of accusations of being ineffective at curbing the Arab murder rate.
The center compared the rate of murders in Israel with the murder rate in 32 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an organization that represents the most developed countries in the world.When comparing Israel to other OECD countries’ 2019 data (the last year for which all countries had data), Israel placed tenth in the ranking between Poland and Portugal.Israeli Arabs and Jews had stark differences already in 2019, with Arab Israelis ranking fifth in murder rate between the US and Estonia, while Jews ranked 30th between Spain and Switzerland.This difference was somewhat reduced by 2023, but the rate had risen in both communities, with the rate for Arab Israelis rising to third between Mexico and Latvia, while the rate for Jewish Israelis had risen to 23rd between Slovenia and the Netherlands.
Worse than between black and white Americans
To understand how this difference in murder rate compares to the United States, the Taub Center calculated that prior to 2015, the ratio of murders between Jews and Arabs was 1:4, while by 2023, it had reached 1:13.This is compared to the difference in rate between white and black Americans, 1:8, which means the difference in murder rates between Jews and Arabs in Israel in 2023 was about 60% greater than the difference in murder rates between black and white communities in the US.The center explains the rise in both communities due to the overall growth of the population, in particular men between the ages of 20 and 34, and the increasing violence in the country overall.“From a sociological perspective, this makes sense. A culture of violence tends to spread and become entrenched, as has happened among the Arab population in recent years, and violence tends to increase, especially during periods of instability in the country, as we have been experiencing in Israel over the past year.“This instability is expressed in the weakening of traditional authority structures, in high levels of inequality, and in social, economic, and political challenges that fuel the increases in violence and murder rates.The center cautions that this can be reversed if the appropriate social and societal policies are implemented.