By Jack Khoury and Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz – 21 Nov 2012
www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-mayor-calls-on-state-to-declare-arab-city-hostile-to-israel.premium-1.479366
Mayor of mainly Jewish Upper Nazareth claims Arab-majority Nazareth is becoming “a nest of terror in the heart of the Galilee, a center for the spread of hatred of Israel that supports and backs every anti-Israel initiative.”
Activists from the Coalition Against Racism in Israel demanded Tuesday that Upper Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gafsou be “indicted for racist statements” after he sent a letter to Interior Minister Eli Yishai claiming that Nazareth is full of “Israel-hating residents whose place is in Gaza and not here.”
Gafsou sent the letter to Yishai several days ago, calling on him to declare Nazareth “a city hostile to the state of Israel” and to halt its government funding because the “regime” in the city is, he says, “a fifth column.”
Gafsou claimed that Nazareth is becoming “a nest of terror in the heart of the Galilee, a center for the spread of hatred of Israel that supports and backs every anti-Israel initiative and is on the lookout for the right moment to stick a knife in the back of the state.”
The letter was written in the wake of demonstrations by Nazareth residents protesting Operation Pillar of Defense. “The rally clearly made it manifest that the regime in the city today is tantamount to a ‘fifth column’ constituting a danger in times of peace and a real threat in times of war,” Gafsou wrote. “Not all the inhabitants are like that, but those who are borne on waves of hatred for Israel are multiplying and growing stronger, and it is they who set the tone in the city.”
“It must be noted that the terrorist Hanin Zuabi is an inhabitant of the city,” he added, referring to the Balad Party MK.
Haneen Zoabi
In his letter, Gafsou recommended removing the city’s “Israel-hating residents whose place is in Gaza and not here, and in their stead nurturing those among them who are interested in maintaining a city that honors its past and its place in history, as a city of tourism, brotherhood, peace and loyalty to the state.”
Because such a thing is impossible, Gafsou wrote, it is necessary to stop the flow of state funds to the city.
Gafsou called the mayor of Nazareth “a rabble-rouser who uses municipal funds to organize subversive activities against the state.”
According to Nazareth Mayor Ramez Jerayssi, “This is incitement by a racist that is not worthy of comment, but apparently Gafsou is preparing his agenda in advance of the next election, especially since the criminal investigations of him are still open. We are not afraid of his incitement, but there is a fear that certain groups in the town of Upper Nazareth will use his words and translate these incitements into deeds. Since in recent days there have already been attempts by groups of extremists who have made rounds and have been calling for death to Arabs near their homes in Upper Nazareth, we will also consider filing a complaint against Gafsou on suspicion of incitement.”
MK Hanin Zuabi said in response that “Gafsou must understand very well that we are here and we will continue to be here.”
“Racism’s source is not only in a moral crisis but also in historical ignorance,” Zuabi said. “He must learn by now that we are natives of this country. You expelled us, and the state has tried to tame us and turn us into ‘good Arabs,’ but we are good only to those who are good to us, and we are very, very ‘bad’ to those who treat us arrogantly, scornfully and dismissively.”
Zuabi added, “We the natives of the homeland feel superior to racists who do not know the history of this land and the fact that we the Palestinians cannot be eradicated or pushed to the margins. And to the democrats, and to the human beings – and of course Gafsou is not among them – I say Gafsou is a danger to you, the democratic Jews, as much as he is to us, the Palestinians.”
According to attorney Nidal Othman, the director of the Coalition Against Racism in Israel, “The law enforcement agencies and the attorney general are continuing to enable this by not investigating and bringing Gafsou to justice, and in their silence they become his accomplices in this crime. To our regret, this is not the first time he has engaged in racist incitement against the Arabs in Israel, and he is known for his racist ideas that are aimed at capturing headlines. “Gafsou is continuing with his cheap election propaganda, which is coming now only to get votes at the polling places for him and his party, at a time when a trend of incitement against the Arabs has become legitimate in the Israeli discourse, thereby pushing the leaders of this city and the country as a whole away from any possibility of a real joint future, brotherhood and peace.”
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