People wave Israeli and PA flags (illustrative)
People wave Israeli and PA flags (illustrative)Flash 90

Residents of the northern town of Kfar Vradim responded with anger when they discovered half of the soon-to-be-built homes in their town were sold to Arabs.

Infrastructure work on "Stage 3" of the new neighborhoods aims to bring the town's population from 7,000 to 15,000. However, when the winning bidders were announced, the news sparked an uproar: half of the winners for the new homes were Arabs, Israel Hayom reported.

"Now maybe all the 'intelligent' people will get it," one resident wrote in a Facebook post. "All of those who didn't want to limit the bids to Jews because of 'racism,' will now have a mosque instead of a mikvah (ritual bath), Nakba Day instead of Independence Day, Martyr Day instead of Remembrance Day, Expulsion Day instead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, a Palestinian flag instead of an Israeli flag."

For decades, Kfar Vradim, a staunchly secular city, refused to allow a mikvah to be built, due to fear that the town would become more religious.

In response, Kfar Vradim Council Head Sivan Yechieli sent a letter to the town's residents, saying, "From a moral perspective, and I think I represent a large majority of Kfar Vradim residents, every citizen of Israel is welcome to live in our town. That is the legal norm, and that is the moral norm."

However, he added, Kfar Vradim is a town with a Jewish, Zionist, secular character, and "it is important to discuss the rights of the majority, including the right to a community which fulfills and preserves its agreed-upon core values."

"On a practical level, we are obligated to the law, to citizens' rights, and to the interests of Kfar Vradim's residents. If we do not know, with the help of the State, how to provide a solution which is demographically balanced and which will ensure the continued character of our town, we will halt the marketing [of the land] until we know how to provide ourselves with a proper and legal solution that works for our community."