Bedouin Israeli Arab politician and member of Knesset, Abu Arar, in an exclusive interview with Arab Today on Monday, accused the Israeli government of turning the media against Arab citizens. Arar said he blamed the government for increased racism towards the Arab citizens of the Jewish state. He referred to an article published on Israeli website Mako, that described the Bedouins living in Negev as “one of the most dangerous gangs in Israel.” The article went on to accuse a number of Arab families living there as being hardened criminals. Arar said he believes the Jewish press is intentionally trying to portray a distorted image of Bedouin Arabs as part of a smear campaign, adding that anything positive related to Arabs is ignored in order to give a “stereotypical view” to the international community. The Bedouin MP said he intended to make formal complaints against a number of news websites for defamation of Arabs living in Negev and for Arabs in general, in an attempt to force the media to change its approach.