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Mayor Plans to Limit Arab Growth in Nazareth

Mayor Shimon Gapso tells Daniel Ben Simon he intends to limit the proportion of Arab residents in Upper Nazareth.
A Palestinian stands on a section of the Pilgrimage Route, the path which tradition says Joseph and Mary took into the West Bank city of Bethlehem in their trek from Nazareth some 2,000 years ago, June 28, 2012. Palestinians hope to persuade UNESCO this weekend to declare parts of Bethlehem, including the Pilgrimage Route, and its Church of the Nativity endangered World Heritage sites in order to expedite funding for repairs. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR34AO6
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UPPER NAZARETH, Israel — In the office of Shimon Gapso, mayor of Upper Nazareth, they feel as if they were under siege. Lately, Gapso has found himself in a struggle with Jewish and Arab residents who accuse him of racism. The latter are infuriated by Gapso's refusal to approve the establishment of an Arab school in the city.

In recent years, Upper Nazareth has changed its face. Thousands of new immigrants from the Commonwealth of Independent States [the former Soviet Union republics] settled in the city, rendering it into “a small Russia.” The influence of the new immigrants is evident in every aspect of life in the city — in the economy, trade and everyday life. Almost every other resident of Upper Nazareth speaks Russian. The Russian Jews maintain close ties among themselves and insist on using their native language as if it were the local official language.

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