Akko Mayor Shimon Lankri announced Friday that he is calling off the Akko Festival for fringe theater which was supposed to take place next week.
"Because of the residents' feelings of anger and insult, there will be no point in holding the festival," Lankri said.
Video of the aftermath of the Arab riot in Akko
The Akko Festival has been called off only once in its 28-year history, following the massive Arab riots on October 2000. The event is perceived as benefitting the Arab community in that it brings tourism to the Old City, which is largely populated by Arabs. In addition, the festival includes shows that are sympathetic to the Arab "narrative" regarding the Middle East conflict, and plays in Arabic.
The Director of the Authority for Development of the Galilee, Moshe Davidovich, told Mayor Lankry that he did not believe the safety of the festival-goers could be guaranteed. He said that many of the Jewish demonstrators said that the festival must be called off because, in their opinion, "it is meant to serve the Arab residents."
Police Increase Deployment in Mixed Cities
Police have fanned out in relatively large numbers in Akko and other places where there is potential for Jewish-Arab friction. They fear that rioting will be renewed and perhaps spread to other hotspots after the Friday prayers in the mosques, in which preachers often incite the worshippers to violence.
Chizki Ezra, IsraelNN
Seven hundred police officers have been stationed in Akko alone. The police have been warned by their commanders, however, not to use live ammunition against rioters. Live ammunition was used in the 2000 riots but Arab Knesset Members subsequently led an effective campaign against the police involved, including top commanders, blaming them for deaths of Arab rioters. This led to the establishment of a high-profile commission of inquiry which terminated the careers of several police officers.
Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen announced Friday that "the hundreds of police officers who are stationed in Akko will remain there until life goes back to normal." He called upon the Jewish and Arab leadership to restrain their communities.
Police have also increased their presence in other mixed cities: Jerusalem, Haifa, Yafo (Jaffa), Ramle, Lod, and the Wadi Ara region.
Other Yom Kippur Incidents
Two additional events which are seen by some as nationalistic in nature occurred at the outset of Yom Kippur (Wednesday evening) but have not been extensively reported.
In Rishon LeTzion, a van ran over a girl who was riding her bicycle, and then hurt two people who were on the sidewalk before crashing into a tree. The driver ran away on foot. While some residents suspect that the driver was an Arab who purposely ran over the girl, police say that the event is more likely a theft gone awry. The girl, 6 year old Topaz Mizrahi, suffered moderate injuries and was hospitalized. Two other people were lightly injured.
The other incident occurred in Wadi Ara, where 400 Arabs decided to hold a car race on Highway 65, the central road connecting Hadera and Afula.
Police response was feeble: only one arrest was made and no force was used, despite the fact that the Arabs pelted the police with rocks and injured four police officers. The Arabs dispersed after the local village heads asked them to.