by Danny Brenner and Daniel Siryoti
Nazareth Mayor Ali Salem launches tirade against Joint Arab List leader Ayman Odeh on live TV, blasts him for inciting violence, damaging Nazareth's trade and tourism • Salem urges Arabs and Jews to "find a way to live together in peace."
Nazareth Mayor Ali Salem
Photo credit: Screenshot: Channel 2 News  |
Nazareth Mayor Ali Salem on Sunday lambasted Joint Arab List MKs for inciting violence and undermining peaceful coexistence in the mixed Jewish-Arab city, as well as harming the trade and tourism vital to his city's economy.
Salem launched into a tirade against Joint Arab List leader MK Ayman Odeh on live TV after spotting Odeh giving an interview to Channel 2 News on one of Nazareth's streets.
Confronting Odeh on camera and yelling in both Arabic and Hebrew, Salem said, "Get out of here! Go back to Haifa, and stop destroying our city. Jews don't come here anymore because of you! ... You're burning the world down. ... Shut up and get out!"
Odeh demanded the cameraman stop filming, but Salem demanded the opposite, and Channel 2 complied.
"It infuriates me that Arab politicians come here, incite violence, and leave us to clean up their mess," Salem told reporters later.
"If Odeh wants to be a hero, let him go to his city, to Haifa. Don't come to Nazareth.
"We invest a great deal in coexistence and tourism. We want to develop our city. I want peace and quiet. ... We used to have thousands of Jews and tourists visit Nazareth over the weekends. They don't visit anymore. This seriously hurts our image and our livelihood, and we won't allow it."
Salem's criticism echoed concerns voiced by other Arab mayors and merchants, who fear the security escalation will result in a Jewish boycott on Arab-owned businesses.
Salem said he believes that "both sides, and by that I mean [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] should sit down and find a real solution. We have to seek peaceful coexistence, and we have to find a solution that would allow both peoples to live side by side in peace."
Speaking to Army Radio later on Sunday, Salem said, "I blame the [Arab sectors'] leaders. They are destroying our future, they are destroying coexistence. We need to find a way to live together. We cannot fight like this. We are damaging ourselves."
He accused Joint Arab List MKs of participating in protests organized by Israeli Arabs "just for the media attention," and further blasted them for "failing to properly work for the people who elected them."
On Sunday, the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee declared a one-day strike in the Arab sector, scheduled for Tuesday, in protest against the restrictions on Muslim worshippers' access to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
The strike will encompass all Arab municipalities and businesses, as well as the Arab school system.
The move was criticized by many in the Arab sector, with some business owners saying they plan to defy the committee and remain open as usual on Tuesday.
Many Arab business owners, especially those with a large Jewish clientele, fear the prolonged tensions will have a detrimental effect on commerce, and some said the decision to call a sector-wide strike was wrong.
Danny Brenner and Daniel Siryoti
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=28847
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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