Swastikas (archives)
Photo: Daniel Kirshner
Swastikas, defamatory slogans sprayed in Arab city
Arabs protest supposed comments by acting mayor Yitzhak Wald saying after daily Ramadan fast, Muslims, ‘come home in evening to gulp like pigs’
Tempestuous winds are blowing in Baqa-Jatt, an Israeli-Arab city in the Haifa District.
Slanderous slogans were sprayed Sunday night on the municipality walls against Baqa-Jatt's acting mayor Yitzhak Wald.
Amongst other things, the perpetrators sprayed, “death to the Jews” and a swastika. Police arrested a youth and teenager from the city for presumably doing the deed.
The act was apparently carried out in protest of comments made by the Interior Ministry-appointed acting mayor who allegedly said that Muslims, “eat like pigs” during the Ramadan break fast.
Wald made these comments two weeks ago at a parent-student meeting in the city’s middle school.
'Thank you for not eating'
Ynet revealed that one of the parents, Hassan Muwasi said to Wald, “we appreciate that you are considerate and are sitting here without coffee or refreshments.”Muwasi told Ynet about what ensued, saying, “I also told him that in order to complete the good deed, instead of fasting until 5 pm, the time at which he returns home, he should fast until 7 pm in order to receive full God-given rewards.
“Then, one of the attendees told him jokingly that it is also good for the diet and Yitzhak answered, ‘you fast in order to diet? You come home in the evening and gulp like pigs.’”
According to Muwasi, “one of the people present jumped up and said, ‘Take it back sir, this comment is unacceptable to us.’ So Wald asked, ‘Do you want me to say like an elephant?’ So the guy answered him, ‘no, like a lion.’
“I told him at that meeting that he should apologize and that this was a wretched comment unfavorably interpreted by us.”
On the flip side, Wald presented a similar story with only one difference. “One of the attendees said that I should continue fasting until the evening because it will help me lose weight.
'This is an incitement campaign'
“I told him that I fear that at the end of the day I will be so hungry that I will eat like a pig. I didn’t talk about the Muslims, I spoke for myself,” said Wald.“In the last few days an incitement campaign has been going on and there has been cynical usage for political purposes conducted by a person who lacks basic morals and values,” he said.
Wald emphasized that he did not say that Muslims eat like pigs. “This is untrue. I never said the words attributed to me…”
Last Saturday, the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee called for a meeting in Nazareth. Amongst other things, they discussed Wald’s comments.
In protest, they decided to terminate all authorities in the Arab sector for two hours.
In addition, they demanded that Wald be fired immediately. “This is a first-class discriminatory and severe statement -all the more so because this a person of official stature.
“These statements come from the institution’s general hostile tones specifically and those of Israeli society in general, against the Arab public,” said the Arab committee’s secretary Abed Anbatawi.
Eron police arrested two suspects in the case; a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old. The two were brought to the Hadera Magistrate’s Court for extension of remand.
“I am not worried, I am at the municipality, conducting business as usual and I believe that the residents of Baqa-Jatt are good people,” said Wald.
'A third party wants to harm city relations'
Muwasi said that “the comments were made, but with a different meaning. It is important that the real story is heard and that they know that the slanderous slogans are a barbaric act, unfitting in our society and I sharply condemn this.“There is a third party that wants to harm the relationship between the people within the city," said Muwasi.
Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit said in response, “if these comments were made, I vehemently oppose them, I view this with great severity and the issue will be fully assessed,” he said.
Baqa-Jatt was established in 2003 through a merger of Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Jatt
