Acre driver: I don't carry out provocations

Jamal Taufik, 48, of Acre's Old City, is widely blamed by police and Jewish residents for intentionally provoking the city's Jews and sparking off three nights of rioting and violence when he drove into the eastern, Jewish part of the city on Yom Kippur, blasted music from his car and refused to leave when asked.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, however, Taufik denied he intended to provoke Acre's Jews.

"It was the evening of Yom Kippur [on Wednesday night]. We have family in the eastern part of the city. My daughter was there. At around 11, I set off to bring her home. Although I knew it was Yom Kippur, I decided to drive through the side streets. I brought my son and his friend with me," Taufik said.

"Suddenly, five meters from the building we were heading for, a group came out and started shouting, 'Death to the Arabs,' and throwing big rocks at us. My son was hit in his face, back and chest. I dragged my son out of the car and we all ran up the stairs," he continued.

Police were called to the building, and an officer tried to evacuate the three men from the scene.

"The cop said, 'I will take you to the hospital.' I trusted him. We went down the stairs, jumped over a number of ditches, and headed for his police car. Suddenly, the youths spotted us, and began throwing rocks at us. We got in the car, but the officer could not get the engine started," Taufik said.

"The officer said, 'Forget it, run!' We all darted out of the car. We had no idea where we were. I saw a construction site. We entered a guard's hut, and a Jewish security guard, Nissim, turned off the light. We hid on the floor, and the mob passed us by," Taufik said, adding that Nissim had saved their lives.

Asked if he blasted music during the drive or was intoxicated, as police say, Taufik said, "I'm a religious Muslim. I don't drink at all. The radio was off. I don't know where the police are getting this from."

Taufik said the Arab mob that marched through the eastern section of town had intended to rescue him and his two passengers. "The police could not get us out, so they came to help," he said.

He called on Acre's residents to come together and put the violence behind them.

"Tomorrow, we will have to live here together, no one is leaving this city. We must find the way back to being good neighbors and friends," he said. "I have a lot of Jewish friends in Acre and I am a member of two Jewish-Arab organizations. I am not a guy who carries out provocations. I just wanted to pick up my daughter.

"I hope wisdom overcomes strength. Arabs and Jews alike must clasp hands and find a way back to normal life," Taufik said. "And I wish the people of Israel a Hag Sameach (Happy Holiday)."

Police said they were checking Taufik's depiction of a policeman fleeing the car as a group of rock throwers approached. A police spokesman said there was no question that Taufik's drive into the city was a provocation.

"This was a deliberate act," Galilee Police spokesman Ch.-Supt Eran Shaked said.

On Friday, one resident of east Acre told the Post he saw Jamal Taufik's son driving the car. "They were screeching their car here, and they were blasting music," one man said. "The car almost ran over a little girl."

Another resident said Taufik had been sent by Acre's Islamist residents to provoke a reaction. "They sent him here. This was all planned. Then the muezzin rallied the masses on the mosque loudspeakers, and sent them here with axes," he said.