By: Avi Yakuel

In 1971, about 400 children under the age of 14 were "killed" in the Netherlands in fatal accidents at car-bicycle meetings. The citizens took bicycles and signs and went out to protest in front of the government institutions. Why ? Because the people of the Netherlands understood that governance means the responsibility of the state to take care of their safety and that of their children.

In 2022, 115 victims from Arab society were "murdered" in Israel, as a result of the use of weapons. The number 1 solution presented by the various speakers to change the trend is called: "Moshilots". We opened the Hebrew Language Academy and found that "governance is the action of the one who governs, the ability to control and supervise the government institutions". Meaning, in the field of the use of weapons in Arab society, Arab and Jewish society were forgotten at the cost of 115 victims in 2022 and the state did not fulfill its role. Another area in which Arab and Jewish society has been forgotten is traffic accidents.

According to the reports of the National Road Safety Authority, in the years 2019-2021, 107 people were killed on Israel's roads. In 2022, 113 people were killed, about 60% of them on interstate roads. In other words, the report shows that the trend of fatalities extends beyond the Arab communities to a culture of wild and violent driving that harms both Arab and Jewish society.

So what is the connection between the use of weapons in Arab society and traffic accidents and politics?

Among all those who are involved in the worlds of crime, there is a great fear of merging violence between different fields. That is, from the use of weapons in traffic accidents.

So why do 348 deaths in road accidents in 2022 not put citizens on the streets?

The "Haralbad" (Israel National Road Safety Authority) report shows that 32% of the total number of dead are from Arab society. However, a quick look at the insights section of the "Haralbad" report from 2022 shows that the subject of deaths in Arab society does not appear despite being significant. At first glance it is strange. However, in a country where 348 deaths in 2022 does not receive attention, such a central clause can be omitted.

While all the news broadcasts in all the media channels make sure to count the murdered daily while saying their names, the victims of the road accidents remain anonymous and are called "killed" and not "murdered", both from the Arab society and from the Jewish society. Hence, the governance, meaning the government's responsibility for our safety begins with semantics. "Killed" sounds less harsh than "murdered", an anonymous victim activates less emotion than a named victim.

However, according to "Haralbad" data from 2022, about 57 children, which is about 50%, of all the children killed in car accidents aged 0-14 are from Arab society. Aren't we excited by the data because these are Arab children and not Jews? Or maybe car accidents It is a gray issue whose results are not seen in the media (numbers, names, semantics) and we want to keep it away from us because we experience cognitive dissonance. For example: a person who smokes knows that he is at a higher risk of getting lung cancer and even dying, but distances himself from the statistics by convincing himself that he is not a smoker A lot. In this way, he does not have to change his behavior and can continue to smoke as much as he wants and solve the uncomfortable feeling.

You and I who drive on the road, distance ourselves from data on fatalities and injuries in road accidents, and tell ourselves a story that we do not drive wildly, do not use the vehicle carelessly (driving fast, using a mobile phone, not using safety accessories, disobeying traffic signs, etc.) and thus do not change our driving behavior.

What is common to the behaviors of wild driving and careless use of the vehicle is that these are life-threatening violent behaviors. 

There is no difference between these behaviors on the road to the use of weapons or domestic violence. These are behaviors that result in prison or a graveyard.

Changing behavior may be done through conveying the message through emotion. For example, a daily count with the name and photo of the victims of traffic accidents, a call for the victims to be "murdered" and not "killed", to stop saying "governance" but "enforcement" and an understanding that what gun violence and traffic accidents have in common is that the Arab society in the State of Israel is a microcosm of the entire society in the State of Israel, both Arabic and Jewish. Ignoring one of them allows violence to spill over to the other.

The time has come that in 2022, in the State of Israel 348 people are killed in car accidents, of which 32% are from Arab society and 50% of all children killed in car accidents aged 0-14 are from Arab society, to make the change. In the Netherlands in 1971, only 400 children were enough.