The Arab population of Lod, near Ben Gurion International Airport, is on the increase. Lod Vice Mayor Emil Hadad, a Likud party member, recently called for the evacuation of the Jewish residents of the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood. The old neighborhood was completely Jewish just ten years ago, but is now 70% Arab. Haddad's proposal appeared in a local newspaper last week, and has been the topic of heated debate in the city.
Hadad said his plan would “save” the Jews living there from harassment at the hands of their Arab neighbors. The vice mayor’s plan involves convincing the Housing Ministry to buy out the Jews living in Ramat Eshkol, move them to a new neighborhood that has not yet been built, and use the homes in Ramat Eshkol to satisfy the demand for 700 housing units needed for Arab housing in Lod.
Israel National Radio’s Eli Stutz and Yishai Fleisher spoke today (Wednesday) with Rafi Kicheli, Lod’s deputy mayor. “The problem started 15 years ago," he said, "when the government decided to bring Arab collaberators from Judea and Samaria to live in Lod. Each of the 80 families brought their entire clan with them, transforming the neighborhood into a place of drugs and crime. The neighborhood, though, still has synagogues, and many Jewish families continue to live there.”
Kicheli blasted Hadad’s proposal, saying that it is "essentially a call for the transfer of the Jews out of Lod." Kicheli called instead for the strengthening of the neighborhood. “We would rather bring in new immigrants to Ramat Eshkol,” he said, “ to perhaps open a religious education facility which would strengthen and build the community, rather than abandoning it.”
“We are no longer talking about Gaza, but a place just three kilometers from the airport, which was a completely Jewish neighborhood just ten years ago,” Kicheli said.
Kicheli, who represents the Yisrael Beiteinu party, said that such ideas could not have developed in a vacuum. “He wouldn’t say this out loud if he didn’t have some sort of support from his boss, the Prime Minister," he accused. "PM Ariel Sharon has legitimized such talk through his planned withdrawal from Gaza.”
Hadad, who is active within the Likud party, is quoted by Haaretz newspaper as claiming he is very close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "I'm the closest to him," Hadad said, adding that Sharon will "hear about my plan and I hope he loves it. I also plan to present it to Absorption Minister Tzippy Livni. This is the solution to the problem here. You have to understand, I say these things as a Lod resident who was born here and lived here 51 years."
Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman called the episode “horrifying.” Lieberman added, “We understand that there is pressure from Arabs, and people are running away. That's how we ran away from Lebanon, that's how they want to run away from Gush Katif, and now they want to run from Lod. This is a dangerous precedent, with ramifications for other mixed [Jewish-Arab] cities like Ramle, Upper Nazareth and Jaffa."
“It is not that we are worried that [this plan] will actually happen,” Kicheli told Stutz and Fleisher, “but when Jews in such neighborhoods hear about such talk, it is very demoralizing. People start getting afraid and concerned that they, too, will be kicked out of their homes.”
Hadad said his plan would “save” the Jews living there from harassment at the hands of their Arab neighbors. The vice mayor’s plan involves convincing the Housing Ministry to buy out the Jews living in Ramat Eshkol, move them to a new neighborhood that has not yet been built, and use the homes in Ramat Eshkol to satisfy the demand for 700 housing units needed for Arab housing in Lod.
Israel National Radio’s Eli Stutz and Yishai Fleisher spoke today (Wednesday) with Rafi Kicheli, Lod’s deputy mayor. “The problem started 15 years ago," he said, "when the government decided to bring Arab collaberators from Judea and Samaria to live in Lod. Each of the 80 families brought their entire clan with them, transforming the neighborhood into a place of drugs and crime. The neighborhood, though, still has synagogues, and many Jewish families continue to live there.”
Kicheli blasted Hadad’s proposal, saying that it is "essentially a call for the transfer of the Jews out of Lod." Kicheli called instead for the strengthening of the neighborhood. “We would rather bring in new immigrants to Ramat Eshkol,” he said, “ to perhaps open a religious education facility which would strengthen and build the community, rather than abandoning it.”
“We are no longer talking about Gaza, but a place just three kilometers from the airport, which was a completely Jewish neighborhood just ten years ago,” Kicheli said.
Kicheli, who represents the Yisrael Beiteinu party, said that such ideas could not have developed in a vacuum. “He wouldn’t say this out loud if he didn’t have some sort of support from his boss, the Prime Minister," he accused. "PM Ariel Sharon has legitimized such talk through his planned withdrawal from Gaza.”
Hadad, who is active within the Likud party, is quoted by Haaretz newspaper as claiming he is very close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "I'm the closest to him," Hadad said, adding that Sharon will "hear about my plan and I hope he loves it. I also plan to present it to Absorption Minister Tzippy Livni. This is the solution to the problem here. You have to understand, I say these things as a Lod resident who was born here and lived here 51 years."
Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman called the episode “horrifying.” Lieberman added, “We understand that there is pressure from Arabs, and people are running away. That's how we ran away from Lebanon, that's how they want to run away from Gush Katif, and now they want to run from Lod. This is a dangerous precedent, with ramifications for other mixed [Jewish-Arab] cities like Ramle, Upper Nazareth and Jaffa."
“It is not that we are worried that [this plan] will actually happen,” Kicheli told Stutz and Fleisher, “but when Jews in such neighborhoods hear about such talk, it is very demoralizing. People start getting afraid and concerned that they, too, will be kicked out of their homes.”