The streets of Bnei Brak (archives)
Photo: Yehuda Perkovitz
Bnei Brak signs: Don't employ Arabs
Palestinian worker without permit discovered hiding last week leads to notices throughout religious town against employing Arabs
Notices against employing Palestinians in Israel without a permit have been posted around the religious Tel Aviv satellite town of Bnei Brak after a Palestinian was caught hiding in a haredi seminary last week, causing uproar.
The notices stated, "As is known, for a number of years we have suffered from the presence of alien workers (at one of the major intersections) throughout the day. These alien workers include dozens of members of the minority – Arabs who strike terror in the hearts of the public, wander aimlessly in stairwells and porches, provoking our children and even doing things which cannot be detailed here."
The notices are the result of events last Thursday when an Arab worker was discovered in a seminary, causing hysteria among staff and students. Only after the police got involved was the worker removed. During the uproar, a passerby was injured.
It was further written, "To our regret… the owners of businesses in the area have begun employing Arab workers, mainly women Arab workers, officially and openly, and about this we cannot be silent."
The organizers of the notices did not forget to add a halachic injunction, mentioning various rulings including the preference of our own nation over all others, noting that when they employ an Arab they cause the Arab to stay and keep hold of the Holy Land.
They also quote one of the most senior Lithuanian rabbis, who said, following the attack on the Merkaz Harav yeshiva, "According to the halacha, it is forbidden to employ Arabs from fear of danger. We are after all at war with them… When there is a large difference in the cost of employing, they allow it even when we're talking about Arabs, G-d forbid, and this is dangerous to life."
