Introducing Security Blurs

In my neighbourhood ¹ in Southern Tel Aviv, white cars can be seen patrolling the streets, with blue and yellow markings, looking very much like regular Israeli police cars. I have learnt to distinguish them, though, by their yellow and blue lights, as opposed to the blue and white lights of a “real” national police vehicle. The neighbourhood is known for its poverty, crime, prostitution and, more recently, for the many African refugees who have found shelter in the small houses around the market. The city of Tel Aviv has neglected this “backyard” of its shiny sea front. In reaction to the increasingly “dangerous” situation in this neighbourhood and others like it, the municipality has initiated a combined “Urban Security Patrol” (Sayeret L’Bitachon Ironi or SELA): security cars belonging to the municipality are staffed with municipality security personnel and police officers. Both actors wear similar dark uniforms with comparable emblems on their arms, and often both are armed and carry handcuffs and other security equipment. According to the official site of the municipality, the units are formed to prevent criminality and terror acts, to aid the police in securing the city and its citizens and to protect the city’s property. ²