Al-Aqsa protests stoke tensions and divisions in Jaffa

JAFFA, Israel - For a couple of days at the beginning of October, central Jaffa emptied and its usually busy streets cleared.

Stores and restaurants in the fashionable and now mostly Jewish parts of the city remained deserted, while policemen in cars and on motorcycles cruised around the Palestinian neighbourhoods.  

Jaffa was once a separate and prominent Palestinian city, where Arabs and Jews lived side-by-side for more than a hundred years. It is usually touted as a place of relative coexistence, though parts of it have been swallowed up by the growth of Tel Aviv, with many Jewish Israelis moving in and gradually pricing-out the Palestinians.

But, since the latest upswing in violence began some three weeks ago, tensions have been rising, with developments helping to reveal the divided views of its residents.

“There was a sense of fear in the streets”, said Gila, a Jewish owner of a beauty parlour.

“My Arab customers were afraid to walk the streets because they fear they will be targeted by Jews seeking revenge,” she said. “My Jewish customers were afraid to walk around the neighbourhood, thinking that the next stabber might be someone from Jaffa.”

The atmosphere turned particularly sour after a protest in support of al-Aqsa in the city’s main street. The demonstration, which was particularly big by local standards, saw hundreds of Palestinian residents of the city marching and a motorcycle caravan riding to protest Israeli restriction on Muslim worship in Al Aqsa.

Even though activists say the authorities approved the march, it was quickly dispersed by police and turned into clashes.

That evening, Hebrew and Arabic language news reports offered contrasting perspectives on the day's events. While Hebrew news items focused on “masked stone throwers” and “rioters” on the streets, Arabic-language websites showed videos of violent arrests and teenage protesters being rounded up.

“The media completely distorted what happened in the protest in Jaffa”, said Rami, a Palestinian bicycle shop owner. “The protest was about al-Aqsa, which is one of our holiest site and Muslims simply ask for it to be respected. The clashes were minor and were stopped by the community itself.”

Fears about a possible change to the status quo at the Muslim holy site, and the growing presence of Jewish settlers were at the heart of Palestinian protests across Israel. But some Jewish residents of Jaffa were not convinced.

'Dispute about lands'

“I don’t think they only protest because of al-Aqsa,” said Shmulik, a Jewish 50-year-old Jaffa resident.

“This is a dispute about lands. I have an Arab friend who still fights in court for land which was taken from his family before 1948 [when Israel was founded].”

“I’m not afraid by what’s happening but I’m not optimistic about the future. At the moment, most people want to work and live peacefully but if things don’t get solved, the fringes will grow and we will see more violence and further escalation.”

As the events across the West Bank and Israel have evolved – with further alleged stabbing attacks taking place and thousands taking to the streets in protest against Israeli policies - additional police forces have been deployed to mixed cities in Israel.

A day after the protest, reports saying that Palestinian minors, activists and politically uninvolved youth were being arrested across Jaffa began to emerge.

Lawyer Muhammad Edari says that excessive use of force by the police and random arrests have been on the rise.

“We hear every evening of teenagers who are being arrested and released shortly after. It looks like the police is trying to intimidate them and get to the people who actually organised the protest,” he said.

Nor are teenagers the only ones being affected. There have also been rumours of hijab-clad women being harassed and reports of far-right groups demonstrating on the streets of mixed cities.

Many talk of the spate of shootings which have seen alleged Palestinian attackers killed, such as the controversial gunning down of Israa Abed in Nazareth earlier this month.

Police claimed that the 30-year-old mother of three was trying to stab them, but video footage of the incident showed her with her hands up, seemingly posing little danger to those around her.

“Arabs in Israel feel that there is an itchy trigger finger,” said Eiad, 35, a Palestinian resident of Jaffa. “The Israeli leadership is inciting and walking around the streets is scary.”

'Hummus brotherhood'

The past few decades have seen a swift change in Jaffa, which has become a centre for shopping and even clubbing. Its merchants, both Palestinians and Jews, see much of their income from Tel Aviv residents who come to shop, eat hummus and tour the area which is promoted as the “authentic” old city of Tel Aviv. In recent weeks though, the usual Tel Aviv crowds have failed to materialise.

“Locals are mocking this sort of coexistence, calling it ‘the hummus brotherhood,’” said Amir Badran, a Jaffa lawyer and Palestinian citizen of Israel. “But people are tired of being punished by Jews who boycott them because they are Arabs every time they protest against discriminatory policies.”  

Following the protest, multiple Israeli social media users began calling for a boycott against Palestinian businesses in the city, further fuelling divisions.

In response to growing online incitement, Tel Aviv mayor, Ron Huldai, published a Facebook status calling on people to come and eat hummus in Jaffa as usual.

His pleas have had a limited impact, with many Palestinians dismissing his comments as orientalist, and many Israelis from outside Jaffa slamming him for his support for the Palestinians. 

Many Jaffa residents though said that they were desperate for things to return to normal.

“The protesters are irresponsible kids”, said Kamal, a Palestinian who works at a Bulgarian restaurant in central Jaffa. “We had no customers for almost a week because of them.”

Shmulik, the 50-year-old born in Jaffa, also said that the two communities depended on one another. 

“People don’t understand that we are tied together, the Arab and Jewish merchants of Jaffa. Just imagine what will happen to us if Arabs decide to boycott our business, we’ll go bankrupt,” he said.

Shifting demographics

Yet Jaffa has seen a flutter of development and a surge in construction, leaving many Palestinians unable to keep up and causing Jaffa’s demographics to shift further.

One real estate agency published a call for his customers to “seize the opportunity of declining interest in mixed-neighbourhoods following the riots and bargain with house owners and finalise a quick, cheap deal.”

“You see new Jewish residents in the city constantly”, said Dafna, a Jewish Israeli, who moved to Jaffa 10 years ago. “And when things get tense, new Jewish residents always start talking about the need for an all-Jewish school which will be Arab-free.”

The trend has pushed many Arab residents out of Jaffa, creating frustration and anger towards the authorities. When local issues combine with frustrations over al-Aqsa and the often brutal treatment of Palestinians in Israel and the Palestinian territories, things can easily escalate.

“While the protest in Jaffa was in support of al-Aqsa, we are indeed facing many other problems and when it all adds up - things can get out of control”, said Eiad, a Palestinian resident of Jaffa.

“If the authorities want Jaffa residents to feel like they belong, they shouldn’t approve Jewish-only housing projects and they should work for the community, make people feel like they have something to lose.”