After Truce, Israel Confronts Aftermath of Arab-Jewish Violence

  • Days of mob attacks shook fragile co-existence across country
  • Violence has raised profound questions over treatment of Arabs
A burned out car in Lod on May 23.Photographer: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images
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Charred shells of cars hulked on the streets of a rundown neighborhood in the Israeli town of Lod, the aftermath of nights of deadly rampaging by Arab and Jewish citizens.

Attacks by Arab and Jewish mobs -- spillover from fighting in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip -- claimed lives on each side and shook an uneasy coexistence in a country shaped by their conflict. Though the violence has eased, it’s left Israel confronting uncomfortable truths about its treatment of Arab citizens who account for about a fifth of the population, and raised profound questions about the kind of society it must become if it is to find peace.