Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi has aroused the ire of constituents with a strange post to Facebook in which he commented on Friday's firebomb attack on a Jewish couple near the Judean city, and tried to convince people that it was not a terror attack and did not take place next to Efrat.
“Dear Efrat residents,” wrote the mayor, “it was reported in the media this morning that 'a fire bomb was thrown near the settlement of Efrat.'
“This is not the first time that the media reports innacurate information in order to serve a specific purpose. The fire bomb was thrown south of the T-Junction on the way to Meitzad. The driver and the passenger in the car were lightly injured.
“After speaking with [Head of IDF Central Command] he told me that the perpetrator had already been apprehended and had definitely not thrown the fire bomb for nationalistic reasons. I gave thanks to the [general] for acting promptly and for continuing to keep the residents of Gush Etzion safe.
"Shabbat Shalom to all."
The comments on Revivi's post, by his Facebook friends, were bitter and sarcastic in nature.
Nachi Eyal of the Legal Forum for Israel asked: "What reason did the attacker have? Economic? Cultural? Educational? What kind of statement is this?”
Zahava Englard commented: “Well, I for one am totally relieved that the [terror attack] was not done out of any nationalistic reasons. Clearly, such activity is merely a sport...recreation, and drivers using the road should know better than to cause interference during those recreational activities. I'm sure glad this silly little episode was clarified to everyone's satisfaction.”
Zakiel Choory, who was in the car that was attacked together with his wife, commented on a friend's page: “I am Zaki (who was hurt in the terror attack). I have in my possession a message from a Shin Bet man who is very knowledgable regarding the investigation, and he wrote me, in the clearest way – this is a nationalistic event (!).”
Choory added that the distance from where the attack took place to Efrat was shorter than the distance to Meitzad.
"You have humiliated us, and even more so – yourself,” he added. “You are not fit to make comments in the press if you are seeking to advance some kind of real-estate-related agenda. I am considering filing a libel suit against you for the impression you made on people who read these disgusting statements, which make it seem that the event was criminally motivated.”
“Mr. Revivi, you are making a mockery of the residents of Efrat,” wrote Zakiel's mother, Rachel. “The lives of my son and my daughter-in-law were saved from a terror attack! I protest vigorously against your baseless and irresponsible hints.”