Israeli Arabs march against hate attacks

Hundreds of Arab Israelis rallied outside Umm al-Faham on Monday in protest at attacks by Jewish extremists that spread to the almost entirely Arab northern town last week. "Umm al-Faham is a red line," the demonstrators chanted as they gathered outside the town, a stronghold of the radical wing of Israel's Islamic Movement. The protest was triggered by an attack on a mosque in the town on Friday. Jewish ultra-nationalists daubed the words "Arabs out" in Hebrew on a door. "Hundreds of Umm al-Faham residents are protesting at recent incidents of nationalist crime," an Israeli police statement said, adding that the rally passed off without incident. Friday's attack was the latest in a spate of hate crimes against Arab targets in recent weeks and drew the condemnation of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders. Earlier this month, suspected Jewish extremists slashed the tyres of some 40 cars in an Arab village in northern Israel. A Roman Catholic convent west of Jerusalem was vandalised in a separate attack. Source: AFP