With 38 murdered since January, Arab community escalate protest with fountains dyed red, roadblocks

Families of murder victims and activists blocked the entrance to Jerusalem, accusing the authorities of abandoning the fight against rising crime, while protesters dyed fountain water red in Tel Aviv, Beersheba and Haifa to raise public awareness; seven were detained for questioning. Family members of murder victims in the Arab community and protesters against what they call the authorities’ failed handling of crime and violence, dyed the water in fountains in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Beersheba red on Tuesday morning. At the same time, activists from the Standing Together movement blocked the entrance to Jerusalem near the Chords Bridge, protesting what they described as the “abandonment of Arab society.” Police detained seven people for questioning during protests in Haifa and Jerusalem. The actions are part of a nationwide day of disruption declared by about 100 families of murder victims and are expected to include additional road blockages. In less than a month and a half since the start of 2026, 38 Arab citizens have been murdered in Israel. The most recent was Omar Yahya, 25, who was shot to death Sunday near his home in the northern town of Kafr Qara. Protest organizers called on the public to wear black to work and to stop work between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. A number of Jewish and Arab protest groups announced they would join. In Haifa, the fountain at the Memorial Garden was dyed red; in Tel Aviv, the Knesset Square fountain; and in Beersheba, the fountain at the city’s northern entrance.