Culture Minister Miri Regev celebrated after controversial Haifa councilman Raja Za'atara said that he will not seek to become Haifa's deputy mayor. Za'atara had come under fire for supporting Hamas and Hezbollah and for comparing Israel to ISIS.
"Za'atara's despicable behavior and his insistence not to apologize for his support of terrorist organizations calling for the destruction of the State of Israel and harming its citizens only reinforces the reason why such a man should not serve as deputy mayor of Haifa," said Regev. "As I said, Raja Za'atara can serve as deputy to Assad, Haniyeh, or Nasrallah."