Tweezer on the way
צילום: מאיר אזולאי
Rightist appointed mayor of Arab town
Shlomo Tweezer, formerly affiliated with Yisrael Beiteinu and the National Union, appointed temporary head of Taibeh, after Interior Ministry deposes local leadership for mismanagement
Former prison head Shlomo Tweezer, who was active in the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu-National Union alliance in 2003, is poised to take charge of the largely Arab town of Taibeh, replacing deposed mayor Abd el-Hakim Haj Yihia.
Due to mismanagement of the municipality, the Interior Ministry exercised its authority to dismiss dysfunctional local leadership, and replaced Taibeh's mayor and local council with a special committee, which appointed Tweezer to oversee day-to-day matters in the town until order is restored.
The move was criticized by many Taibeh residents, including Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List – Ta'al). "We object to the decision to disband the current leadership," he told Ynet.
"We weren't sure why there was such insistence to do so, but now the embarrassing truth has come to light: This is a shady deal meant to provide a government job for a former Yisrael Beiteinu man, whose party believes that Taibeh should belong to the Palestinian Authority," he said.
We need to ask why a right-wing man was appointed as temporary mayor of an Arab town, said Tibi. "We must ask whether (Yisrael Beiteinu chairman) Avigdor Lieberman has managed to infiltrate representatives into Arab municipalities in order to promote his ideology of transfer.
"The idea that a former prison governor will be in charge of an Arab town, particularly one who is Lieberman's representative, is sick. Imagine a member of Islamic Jihad being appointed mayor of Kochav Yair or Ra'anana," he added.
"This is a bizarre appointment, bordering of mafia-like. We'll go all the way to the High Court in order to cancel the disbandment of the local leadership. I hope that the incoming interior minister, Meir Sheetrit, will rectify this injustice," he said.
Tweezer: Municipality was in serious debt
In response, Tweezer told Ynet that his critics should ask why the former leadership was deposed. "Let's tell the truth – the municipality accumulated a NIS 20 million ($5 million) deficit. All of the municipality's equipment was confiscated."
"I know residents intend to hold a protest against my appointment, Saturday, but I say to them: I am an honest and God-fearing Jewish man. I respect you, you should respect me. I will work to serve the residents of Taibeh, regardless of color or religion.
"I intend to work for the good of the residents, not the politicians," he added. "I have filled many difficult positions in my life, and in each of them, I worked for the good of the simple man…I intend to take this job because Taibeh's residents deserve education and a clean living environment, like all citizens do."
Regarding his political affiliation, he emphasized, "I never ran for office and was not a part of the Yisrael Beiteinu party. I helped the party and identified with it ideologically, but this means nothing. I was not involved in any political process in the most recent elections and did not participate in any party conferences."
The Interior Ministry also responded to complaints against Tweezer, saying "the appointment was completely professional and appropriate. It was unrelated to political considerations."
The mayor and local council were disbanded solely based on their poor performance, the ministry said, adding that "it is inappropriate of the former leadership to avoid taking responsibility" for their mismanagement.
"The former leadership failed in their job, and they now choose to blame the consequence of their failure on ethnic and political circumstances," the ministry said.
