The mayor of a southern Israeli city banned Arab construction workers from working in local preschools. Many condemned the mayor's move as racist, but he cited security as the main concern after violence has increased in Israel by Palestinian Israelis, according to AP via MSN.
The mayor of Ashkelon, Itamar Shimoni, barred the workers in response to the wave of Palestinian-on-Israeli attacks that killed 11 people in the last month with a ban on Arab workers in preschools after the most recent shooting at a Jerusalem synagogue, according to AP. Most of the recent attacks have occurred in Jerusalem, where the population is one-third Palestinian.
Israeli Arab workers refurbishing bomb shelters in local kindergartens would not be allowed to return to their jobs. Security measures were also increased at construction sites that employ Arabs.
"Anyone who thinks this is illegal can take me to court," Shimoni said, according to AP. "At this time, I prefer to be taken to court and not, God forbid, to attend the funeral of one of the children from kindergartens."
The barred workers in the city of Ashkelon are Arab by race, but citizens of Israel - not like the Palestinian assailants from the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, according to AP. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni called the order against the Arab citizens illegal and has instructed the Attorney General to take action.
"We must not generalize about an entire public due to a small and violent minority," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, according to AP. "The vast majority of Israel's Arab citizens are law abiding and whoever breaks the law - we will take determined and vigorous action against him."
A Channel 10 opinion poll showed that 58 percent of the Jewish public supports Shimoni's measures and 32 percent oppose, according to AP. The poll was conducted by the Panels agency. The number of people questioned nor the margin of error have been provided.
Israel has always been proud that they are the only democracy in the Middle East and it has said that protecting the civil rights of the Arab minority is greatly important, according to AP. The Arab population includes various religions, such as Muslims, Christians, Bedouins and Druse.
Arabs make up 20 percent of Israel's population and they often suffer high poverty rates, job and housing discrimination and poor public services, according to AP. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman recently asked Israeli Arabs to take a loyalty oath and has proposed redrawing Israel's borders in order to put many Arab Israelis on the Palestinian side of the country.
Equal Employment Commissioner in Israel's Economy Ministry Tziona Koenig-Yair said there has been an increase in Arab workers losing jobs due to racism. "We have to realize that citizens of this country who want to live here cannot be held accountable for things that are being done by extremists," she said, according to AP.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to unveil his "nationality" law on Sunday that "he said is meant to solidify Israel's status as the homeland of the Jewish people," according to AP. Netanyahu claims the law "will enshrine the full equality" of every citizen of Israel, but Arabs are skeptical.
Jafar Farah, the director of the Arab advocacy group Mossawa Center, said the new law would "deepen the discrimination we face, and the Ashkelon mayor's order is part of the incitement against the Arab community led by the prime minister himself," according to AP.
Israel police have been handing out demolition notices to the families of Palestinian attackers, including the shooters from this week's synagogue attack. There is a 48-hour appeal period, but then the families' homes will be destroyed.
