Israel's Arab Citizens Alienated After War With Hamas

Michele Chabin, Special for USA TODAY 6 a.m. EDT September 20, 2014

WADI ARA, Israel – The downturn in Asem Jezmawi's restaurant business began in early July. That's when thousands of Israel's Arab citizens took to the streets to protest the killing of an Arab teenager by Jewish extremists to avenge the earlier deaths of three Jewish teens.

Jezmawi's eatery, in this predominantly Arab region of northern Israel, floundered even more during the seven-week war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that began July 8.

Speaking in fluent Hebrew, the Arab restaurateur pondered why most of his Jewish customers haven't returned since the fighting ended in late August.

"Maybe they're afraid for their safety, coming to an Arab town, or maybe someone put my restaurant under herem – a boycott – because we're Arabs," Jezmawi said.

His lament underscores how Jewish-Arab tensions that exist in Israel even during the best of times have soared in recent months and show few signs of abating.

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/09/20/israel-arabs-alienated/15503257/