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The controversial video.

Offensive ad plays on racial divisions between Israel's Jews

A commercial for the Carmei Gat real estate project, aimed at wooing the national-religious sector of Israeli Jews, seems to promise residents a lifestyle free of Sephardic Jews.

A video commercial for the company marketing the Carmei Gat real estate project in Kiryat Gat has sparked controversy and provoked outrage for its seemingly racist storyline.

 

 

The project, which is being marketed to members of Israel's national-religious sector, seems to promise a lifestyle free of Sephardic (Mizrahi) neighbors and plays on perceived divisions between Jews of European descent and those of Middle Eastern and North African descent.

 

The commercial shows a religious family – two parents and three kids – lighting Hanukkah candles. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door and two rude, inarticulate, poorly dressed, unintelligent neighbors come in. Both of them speak in an exaggerated Mizrahi Hebrew accent. One of them is named "Abergil," a notably Mizrahi name.

 

The neighbors are seemingly traditional, but not religious.

 

From the controversial Carmei Gat commercial.
From the controversial Carmei Gat commercial.

 

The family's stunned father dreams of a new place in which to live, and a voice in the video says "Want the neighbors your heart desires? The Srugim (a nickname for the national-religious public) have a new home. Join the national-religious Carmei Gat community today. In faith, we are building you a community."

 

The B'emuna ("in faith") company, which is developing the project, said in response, "The company would like to deeply apologize for the offensive video that was uploaded to the internet today. The B'emuna company has always served the public at large and the offensive message that was conveyed in the video is not our way and is against our values.

 

"At the instruction of company management, the video was immediately removed, and a process of reflection and clarification has been started, with the goal of finding out how the video was approved. We will go on building neighborhoods for the religious public in Carmei Gat and other places for the entire public."

 

In spite of the company's scramble to rectify the situation, however, the ad is provoking a stern response from the government.

 

Minister for Construction Yoav Galant asked Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein on Monday to use all legal measures available, and as soon as possible, to reject B'emuna from all tenders for state land.

 

Galant called the ad tasteless and racist. He added that the group, which the Israel Land Authority granted state land to build Carmei Gat on, used "shockingly discriminatory marketing methods" and therefore should not be eligible to build on state land.

 

Galant further emphasized that the government needs to guarantee that its land is marketed in a manner that protects equality and without allowing for exclusion of any groups.

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.01.15, 12:37
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