Shas head Aryeh Deri visited the Israeli Arab town of Abu Ghosh on Tuesday following an overnight attack by vandals. The attacks slashed the tires of 28 cars and spray-painted the words “Arabs out” on walls.
Deri began by visiting the local council building, where he and MK David Azoulay (Shas) met with local politicians, including local Shas activists. The hareidi-religious Shas party has won support from many Israeli Arabs due to policies including support for large families and a liberal fiscal platform.
He shared his feelings after the visit on his official Facebook page.
“I just visited the town of Abu Ghosh, and I was appalled to see the hate crime committed there by a group of hot-heads and cowards,” Deri wrote.
“The town of Abu Ghosh has always been a symbol of unity between peoples,” he continued. “These racists’ attempt to sow discord will not succeed.”
“I feel disgust at these actions,” Deri declared. “As a people that was persecuted for thousands of years for being a minority, we should understand how serious such acts are better than most.”
“We must reject such acts and those who commit them. I call on the Israel Police to do whatever it can to bring those responsible to justice, and to prevent these despicable incidents in the future,” he concluded.
Police suspect Jewish nationalists in the Abu Ghosh vandalism, but no arrests have been made.