The Israeli government declared a state of emergency and Border Police were called into Lod overnight Tuesday as rioting by Arab mobs in the mixed Israeli-Arab city reached new heights to levels never seen before in Israeli history.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered all Border Police companies who were aiding the IDF in the Shomron to assist in Lod and the neighboring city of Ramle. The order came after a request from Lod Mayor Yair Revivo, who asked Netanyahu to declare a state of emergency in the city as the situation is “too big for the police.”

“This is Kristallnacht in Lod,” he said. “We’ve lost control of the city and the streets. I’ve called on the prime minister to declare a state of emergency in Lod, to call in the IDF, to impose a curfew, to restore quiet…This is an intifada of Arab Israelis, a complete loss of control. It’s unfathomable. Shuls are being burned. Hundreds of cars set on fire. Hundreds of Arab thugs are roaming the streets. This is worse than the missiles from Gaza.”

Below is a video of the Sifrei Torah, which miraculously survived the fire, being removed from one of the shuls that was burned.

https://twitter.com/GiladCohenJR/status/1392404345426268160?s=20

Situation getting out of hand in Lod. An Arab citizen shoots at Israeli police with an automatic weapon. #Israel pic.twitter.com/nxPfcAh14V

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) May 11, 2021

לוד. תמונת מצב. ניידת משטרה עולה באש.
קרדיט: ארצי חלפון pic.twitter.com/HRoMIJYWu8

— גלעד כהן | Gilad Cohen (@GiladCohenJR) May 11, 2021

בית כנסת ברחוב ברנר בלוד עולה בלהבות. pic.twitter.com/ayHj3Afnk4

— שילה פריד🇮🇱 (@shilofreid) May 11, 2021

מכוניות יהודים הוצתו בהפרות סדר בלוד
(אורלי אלקלעי) pic.twitter.com/uAxQpaJWdc

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 11, 2021

This was the scene in Lod at noon on Wednesday:

מרכז העיר לוד עכשיו pic.twitter.com/ZXAmCrkV7t

— ידידיה אפשטיין (@yedidya_epstien) May 11, 2021

After a night of unparalleled destruction overnight Monday in Lod, the violent riots and pillaging continued on Tuesday night, with a number of shuls and numerous stores set on fire, as well as dozens of cars. Two Jewish residents of Lod were seriously injured, one from rocks thrown at his car, and were evacuated to the hospital.

Jewish residents were barricaded in their homes and some say that the police did little to stop the rioting.

“Mobs of Arabs are going from street to street, setting stores on fire, smashing windows,” one resident said. “Jews have barricaded themselves in their homes terrified of leaving while their cars are set on fire outside. The police are nowhere to be seen.”

The rioting in Lod began earlier in the day on Tuesday when Arabs began throwing rocks and other objects at police officers and setting cars on fire during the funeral of an Arab who was allegedly shot to death on Monday evening by a Jewish resident of the city who feared for his life. Two police officers were injured.

Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said that the situation is even worse than during the second intifada in October 2000, when widespread Arab rioting took place throughout the country.

Arab riots continued on Tuesday night in other cities across Israel as well. Arab rioters in Ako set a popular Jewish-owned restaurant and hotel on fire, seriously injuring an 84-year-old man, and homes and cars in Ramle were attacked. Riots also took place in Yafo and in Arab neighborhoods and towns across the country.

מסעדת אורי בורי בעיר העתיקה בעכו הוצתה@CBeyar pic.twitter.com/mB9y8GI9ol

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 11, 2021

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)