Israeli mayor responds to racism charge
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Ashkelon Mayor Itamar Shimoni argues that the decision to halt work by Arab Israeli construction workers in his city was intended only to allay tensions, saying, "I believe that Arab Israelis are part of us."
Of all the strong condemnation following the Nov. 19 decision by Ashkelon Mayor Itamar Shimoni to stop the work of Arab Israeli construction workers in kindergartens across the city, that of Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett incensed him the most: “As minister of economy and trade, I won't be part of hurting any worker because of his religion or race.”
“Look who is calling the kettle black,” Shimoni said during an interview with Al-Monitor. “Suddenly, the right-wing Bennett ostensibly defends Arab Israelis. It might have been very nice had it not been imbued with hypocrisy. He holds a certain position year-round, yet all of a sudden he comes out with all sorts of statements against me. I regret that these are the people who run the State of Israel.”
Shimoni made his controversial decision in the wake of the Nov. 18 massacre at the Bnei Torah Kehilat Yaakov synagogue in Jerusalem. According to him, the ban on the city employing Arab construction workers was supposed to be lifted after the storm blew over.
But the damage to the city and its image was almost instantaneous. Plazit Packaging, a plant from Kibbutz Gazit in the north of Israel, which employs Jews, Arabs and Druze, decided to call off a planned trip there for its employees. Ashkelon had been chosen as a vacation resort after it was hit by some 230 rockets during Operation Protective Edge this past summer.
