Livni. Cold welcome
Photo: Hagai Aharon
Protestors swear at Livni in Nazareth
Demonstrators chant, 'Tzipi Livni is the mother of terror', as foreign minister arrives in northern city for Ramadan fast-breaking meal
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni received a cold welcome Tuesday evening as she arrived for a Ramadan fast-breaking meal in the northern city of Nazareth.
The protestors, members of the Balad and communist parties and other organizations, also said that the foreign minister's hosts were legitimizing "Israel's crimes against the Palestinians, Lebanon
and Syria".
Dozens of demonstrators chanted, "Livni, you have blood on your hands," "Your policy is a policy of killing Palestinian and Lebanese," "Israel is a terror state" and "Tzipi Livni is the mother of terror."
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"The Arabs who greeted her are exactly like her. Why do they have to come and dine with her? Don't they have enough food at home?" one of the demonstrators told Ynet.
"It is political hypocrisy that senior officials with a political status, whose platform slams the Israeli policy, which is a policy of terror, and the racism and the Israeli government, meet to dine with the foreign minister," said Balad activist Khenin Zuebi.
"I understand people who voted for Likud or for the Labor Party and host her, but I do not understand how people with national pride take part in such meals. Part of the definition of a 'national person' is also to expose this political hypocrisy, not only to take part in it. Our message eventually passed and the hosts were embarrassed," the demonstrator said.
The meal, which was initiated by the Keren Avraham organization, was also attended by Nazareth Mayor Ramiz Jaraisy, Haifa's chief rabbi She'ar Yeshuv Hacohen and Bishop Elias Shakur, the archbishop of the Israeli Greek Catholic Church.
Livni said during the event, "The only complete national solution for the Palestinian people will be in a Palestinian state, just like Israel serves as the national home for the Jewish people.
"The Arab leadership in Israel is making a mistake when it calls for separation and refusal to take part in the civil service, when it could encourage a joint dialogue and bridge the gaps. Don’t separate yourselves; ask yourselves where you were when you could have made a difference."
The foreign minister concluded by saying that "this is the right time to discuss the problems and bridge the gaps, alongside the progress in the diplomatic process."
