Tel Aviv – Arabs Flee Home Due to Threats from Jewish Neighbors

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    Tel Aviv – Five residents of the north, four Muslims and a Druze, were forced to leave their apartment in southern Tel Aviv due to threats and persecution by their Jewish neighbors, Ynet learned Thursday.

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    “I felt humiliated by the hatred,” said Ganem Abbas, the young Druze man, who has served in the IDF.

    Abbas, originally from Abu Sinan in the north, came to the center of Israel two weeks ago in order to work at a construction site in Jaffa, which he says is owned by the municipality. He and his friends decided to rent an apartment nearby, in Shapiro neighborhood in Tel Aviv.

    But three days ago the friends returned home in the evening to see that their main water pipe had been broken. Gas bottles had been stolen.

    “The landlady told me that people from the neighborhood had threatened to torch the house and attack her if we don’t get out, because we’re Arabs,” Abbas said.

    He also described a particularly humiliating moment. “The neighbors came out and started to yell that they don’t want to see Arabs in the neighborhood, and that it is for Jews only,” he recounted.

    “When we heard that, four of the guys decided to go back up north because they felt their lives were in danger.”

    Mahmoud Dalasha, 37 from the village of Bu’eine, says the neighbors “sent their kids to swear at us”. Ganem stayed because he is Druze, Dalasha said, but the rest fled the area.

    “There were dozens of people there who said they had asked the rabbi, who told them we had to be evicted,” he recounted. Dalasha added that the neighbors had threatened to attach an explosive device to his car.

    Dalasha blames the government “for everything going on with racism, because I guess Arabs don’t count in this country”.

    “(The government) is just working to expel Arabs from their lands, but this will never happen. We will stand up to all the racism and hatred,” he vowed.

    “I cam to Tel Aviv to work and support my family, not to go wild, but now I have to look for other work.”

    Abbas, for his part, has reached the conclusion that “racism is getting stronger everywhere after the rabbis’ call not to rent to Arabs, and the day may come when we are expelled from the state though we are a part of it”.

    “This act destroys coexistence. I feel humiliated from this intolerable cruelty. Despite serving in the army and telling the neighbors this, but they didn’t care and only gave us the evil eye. I have heard stories about Arabs who were fired for speaking their mother tongue – even that disturbs the racists.”

    Landlady Ora Iwan told Ynet she had not instructed the five to leave, and that she was equally shocked by her neighbors’ behavior. “They said they would make my life very difficult if I didn’t tell the Arabs to get out,” she said.

    However Iwan is fearful of filing an official complaint. “If they had weapons they would have used them. After what I saw, I think racism against Arabs will continue,” she said.


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    10 Comments
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    Wannabe
    Wannabe
    13 years ago

    Not condoning this in any way but the arabs have been doing this (and worse) for years to Jewish residents in mixed cities; like Lod for example.

    VeyIzMir
    VeyIzMir
    13 years ago

    Wow! That’s a first.

    jonkamm623
    jonkamm623
    13 years ago

    shame on those jews.they should want 2 get stabbed and killed by the arabs.dont they want front row seats in heaven?

    czyrankevic
    czyrankevic
    13 years ago

    i wish they would run away from the entire israel as long the arabs feel threatened the jews wont feel threatened.a few weeks ago arabs threatened a new jewish neihbor in a mixed sector and the police did not lift a finger or give a hoot more power to the jews

    Hotveggie
    Hotveggie
    13 years ago

    It’s disgusting that Jews can treat other people this way, especially someone who put their life on the line by serving in the IDF. If those residents were peaceful people and didn’t cause any problems they had no reason to be treated that way. It’s a shame ,how does this further the peace between the Israelis and Arabs. Those people should be forced to apologize and have to take lessons in racial tolerance.

    Liepa
    Liepa
    13 years ago

    Can’t blame the Jews, the arabs have been doing these type of things and far worse whenever they had the upper hand. Let’s face it, in most of the 22 muslim countries, if a couple of Jews were to move into an arabic neighborhood they’d probably be lynched, so these guys shouldn’t complain to much.

    13 years ago

    We are in galus. Time to remember that.

    michaltastik_dot_com
    michaltastik_dot_com
    13 years ago

    On the one hand, Arabs have been harassing Jews.

    On the other hand, they were in the IDF so they are a different kind of Arab. They are the Arab that is part of a peace solution not a hate solution.

    On the other hand, why did they have to get an apartment in a Jewish area? It says they were working in Jaffa, doesn’t Jaffa have neighborhoods of each? I saw the indie film, “Jaffa” and in the movie there were neighborhoods of both. The people I was with said Jaffa is really just like that.