Akko Mayor Shimon Lancry said on Sunday that he will petition the High Court of Justice if the national government does not make the city's residents eligible for compensation for damage suffered in the Yom Kippur riots. Lancry told a news conference that he has been able to raise a total of NIS 200,000 on his own as partial compensation to residents whose property was destroyed during the disturbances.
The mayor told reporters, "The Finance Ministry has not yet decided to recognize the events as unusual, as needed to qualify for special attention from the Property Tax Bureau, and the insurance companies are dragging their feet and making it hard for the adversely-affected residents." He said that if need be, the city will help the residents file a class-action suit against the insurance companies.
Relating to criticism of the police's response to the riots, Lancry said that the time had come to stop using the force as the public's punching bag. "We definitely demand that the police examine how the events of Yom Kippur Eve developed as they did," he said, "but it must be noted that the next day, the police operated at the risk of their lives and, together with us, prevented things from getting worse, and I want to commend them."
Lancry defended his cancellation of the Akko Alternative Theater Festival as a calming factor. He said, "These are days of introspection, not celebration, and I'm sure that Akko will come out of this stronger."
Lancry concluded by saying that leadership is judged by its ability to make decisions and control events. He said "There was nothing that I could do and didn't do."