Israeli politicians on Thursday lambasted the mayor of the southern city of Ashkelon for ordering a halt of construction on bomb shelters in city kindergartens in order to keep Arab workers off f the sites.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli politicians criticizing Mayor Itamar Shimoni’s announcement on Facebook that he would terminate construction of shelters at any kindergarten where Arab workers were employed and also order the posting of armed guards outside kindergartens near building sites that employed Arab construction workers.
Netanyahu said there was “no place for discrimination against Israeli Arabs.” He added: “The vast majority of Arab citizens of Israel are law-abiding, and those who violate the law — we work against them with determination and firmness.”
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin said that “the mobilization of the political system against the decision is a determined message to ourselves and to the world.” He added: “This is real proof that even while enduring murderous terrorism we do not compromise on our most important values.”
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni asked Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein to investigate the illegal nature of Shimoni’s instruction. “This is an order that undermines the foundation principles of equality and prevention of discrimination and stands in defiance of the law of equality rights in the workplace. Discrimination against employees or job seekers on the basis of nationality or religion is prohibited, and should be dealt with to the full extent of the law,” she said.
Interior Minister Gilad Erdan characterized the move as “unacceptable” and instructed ministry officials to investigate its legality. “At this time, it is the obligation of leaders to try to calm the atmosphere and return a sense of personal safety. I understand the worries of the mayor and the citizens,” but they should leave the task of restoring security to the military and police, according to the ‘Times of Israel’.
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett likened moves such as Shimoni’s to single out Israeli Arabs to racism. “The overwhelming majority of Israeli Arabs are loyal to the State of Israel. They want to integrate.”
Finance Minister Yair Lapid said that the notion to stop employing Arabs for work in Israel abandoned the ideal of coexistence. “The calls to stop employing Arabs in Israel are racist,” he said. “It is giving in to terror, because we are giving up control of our lives and a our day to day living to the hands of extremists instead of supporting coexistence.”
Shimoni claimed his measure was intended “to increase the personal security of parents, children and the educational staff,” according to the Israeli news site ‘Walla’. He said: “At the moment there’s a prevailing feeling among parents, [and] I was at a crossroads and had to make a decision. I’m comfortable with this decision and I hope very much that this whole business will quickly calm down, and I will welcome [the Arab workers] back with candies.”
