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Arabs harass residents in Beit Shemesh with the help of the Israeli Security ServicesJews living in the Nofei Aviv neighborhood of Beit Shemesh complain that Arab informers harass them. “I have surrounded my house with a tall iron fence. We have our own private Iron Dome” described one resident of the neighborhood. The resident further stated that the police have ignored the complaints because the Arabs have provided the police with information related to terrorism.The problem of Arab informers housed in Jewish neighborhoods has reached Beit Shemesh. In many cases the informers are criminals who agreed to inform out of greed. Now the informers enjoy complete immunity and are free to do as they please.David’s family (pseudonym), who live next to the home of an Arab informer in the scenic Nofei Aviv neighborhood, has had to erect a fence to protect themselves from the Arab harassment. Nofei Aviv is a well-established Anglo neighborhood but has begun to have the same problems as depressed neighborhoods in Acre, Ramle, Ofakim, and others where Arab informers live.David’s house is now protected by a ten foot concrete wall with a metal roof and a large metal gate at the entrance. The porch in the backyard has an iron wall in order to protect the children when they play in the yard.“They didn’t bother getting out of the car.”“We have our own private Iron Dome in Beit Shemesh,” David says sarcastically. “I built the fence after the Arabs harassed us a few times. They tossed bullets into the house and as we walked in the backyard they bullied us, but I never thought they would start throwing stones.”Two months ago things escalated. “They threw a barrage of stones at us, many of which reached the second story porch. Miraculously the stones didn’t make it into the house. We called the police and they said they would send a car but no one came,” said David in an interview with Hakol Hayehudi. From his voice it was clear that he had given up on receiving help from the police.“When I learned in Ateret Cohanim in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City we covered all the airspace of the alleyways with metal roofing in order to protect us from the Arab stone throwers,” he recalls. “Now we are doing the same thing here in Beit Shemesh.” | “The police didn’t even bother getting out of the car”Last week (August 2013), the Arabs once again threw stones. “Last Wednesday (Aug. 20, 2013) my children were playing on the porch and heard stones hitting the roof of the porch. We debated whether or not to call the police, thinking it might just be a prank. Then there was another barrage of stones and we called the police. When it happened again, my wife got out of the house and took pictures of the stone throwers.”That time the police came, but David says they came late and did not even get out of the car. “A car arrived after half an hour and the officers did not even get out. My wife explained that she took pictures of the Arabs who were throwing stones and the police told her not to take pictures because it won’t help. The police said they would talk to the Arabs and that was that. I was told not to file a police complaint because it’s a waste of time,” explained David.It’s clear to David that the reason the Arab violence is tolerated is because they are informers who enjoy immunity from the security services.“According to what I’m told, the Arabs have received jobs, roles at city hall and now they do as they please.” Another example David gives is that the whole road is painted red and white- meaning that you can’t park there- but in front of the informers home there is no red and white. “Before their house and after their house its red and white, but the exact spot where he puts his car there is no red and white. I don’t know if it’s related to him working at the municipality, but that’s how it is.”David says that prior to the harassment he had never had a conversation with the Arabs. “I have never had anything against them, our only contact was when they threw stones at us and once I used one of them as a Shabbos Goy.”David argues that the Arab presence could also lead to assimilation. “He [the Arab neighbor] has two children aged ten and twelve and both have Jewish names. The Arab children play with the religious Jewish children here and are a part of the clique. They speak Hebrew fluently and it’s hard to tell that they are even Arabs.”“The father is responsible for all the landscaping in Beit Shemesh. A worker in the city’s landscaping department told me that he sits around all day doing nothing and gets paid quite well. Further, no one gets along with him. He got a good job because he was an informer and when his children cause problems here no one cares.”