Mayor Yahav told an Arabic newspaper over the weekend that he does not object to the return of Arab refugees from 1948 to his city as part of a peace arrangement with the Palestinian Authority.
Aviad Visuly, head of the Haifa Likud Chapter and the Land of Israel Forum, says that Yahav must apologize to those who fought in Israel's War of Independence.
"We are shocked by the Mayor of Haifa's post-Zionist opinions," Visuly said in the name of the Land of Israel Forum. "By comparing the Arabs who ran away from Haifa in 1948 to the Jews who ran away from the Nazis in Germany, he is actually comparing Israel in its early days to Nazi Germany... If Yahav supports the Arabs' 'right of return,' let him provide an example and give the keys to his home in the Denya neighborhood to the Arabs who claim ownership of the land on which it is built."
Yahav was elected mayor of Haifa in 2003 on a joint Shinui-Labor ticket, and joined Kadima early this year.
Until 1948, Haifa had a large Jewish population, close to half the total of 150,000. By the time Israel's independence was declared, however, in May 1948, about half the Arabs had left. Today, about 35,000 out of the city's total population of 270,000 - some 13% - are Arab.
Visuly called on Yahav to both resign and apologize immediately for his remarks. "He must apologize to all the members of the Palmach and Haganah who risked their lives defending Haifa against the Arab armies and mobs during the War of Independence," Visuly said.
What Yahav actually told the Kol Al-Arab newspaper was: "In principle, I do not object to having some of the Palestinian residents return to Haifa in the framework of an accepted and signed agreement that will end the dispute with the Palestinian nation [sic]... I tell you in all honesty that I feel the pain of the refugees and hope that their problem will be solved, because my father tasted the bitterness of loss and of being a refugee after he escaped from Germany..."
Yahav further added, "I do not fear the growth of the Arab population in the city... I prefer that many Arab intellectuals would come."
The fax number of Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav is 04-8356020. From abroad, replace the first zero with 972.
Aviad Visuly, head of the Haifa Likud Chapter and the Land of Israel Forum, says that Yahav must apologize to those who fought in Israel's War of Independence.
"We are shocked by the Mayor of Haifa's post-Zionist opinions," Visuly said in the name of the Land of Israel Forum. "By comparing the Arabs who ran away from Haifa in 1948 to the Jews who ran away from the Nazis in Germany, he is actually comparing Israel in its early days to Nazi Germany... If Yahav supports the Arabs' 'right of return,' let him provide an example and give the keys to his home in the Denya neighborhood to the Arabs who claim ownership of the land on which it is built."
Yahav was elected mayor of Haifa in 2003 on a joint Shinui-Labor ticket, and joined Kadima early this year.
Until 1948, Haifa had a large Jewish population, close to half the total of 150,000. By the time Israel's independence was declared, however, in May 1948, about half the Arabs had left. Today, about 35,000 out of the city's total population of 270,000 - some 13% - are Arab.
Visuly called on Yahav to both resign and apologize immediately for his remarks. "He must apologize to all the members of the Palmach and Haganah who risked their lives defending Haifa against the Arab armies and mobs during the War of Independence," Visuly said.
What Yahav actually told the Kol Al-Arab newspaper was: "In principle, I do not object to having some of the Palestinian residents return to Haifa in the framework of an accepted and signed agreement that will end the dispute with the Palestinian nation [sic]... I tell you in all honesty that I feel the pain of the refugees and hope that their problem will be solved, because my father tasted the bitterness of loss and of being a refugee after he escaped from Germany..."
Yahav further added, "I do not fear the growth of the Arab population in the city... I prefer that many Arab intellectuals would come."
The fax number of Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav is 04-8356020. From abroad, replace the first zero with 972.