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Initiative: Expel 'filthy' infiltrators from Tel Aviv
Yoav Zitun
Published: 23.06.10, 23:17
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21 Talkbacks for this article
1. Israel has a serious racism problem
B.G   (06.24.10)
yes we have external enemies but the racism endemic in Israeli society will not go away unless it is confronted head on. what started as the rantings of Kahane (y's) has now become mainstream in too many quarters. We were not chosen to be bigots but to be a moral light unto the nations.
2. It's worse renting flats to foreigners who don't live there
Leah ,   Jerusalem   (06.24.10)
In Jerusalem we have a different problem, of apartments that are purchased by rich foreigners (usually American or French) and then locked up 10 months of the year, thus removing them from the market and pushing up prices of real estate across the city. Those bearing the brunt are the hard working middle class who pay through the nose for basic accommodation. At least in the situation described in the article, these flats are being inhabited by someone. Believe me, ghost towns are a sad and sorry sight.
3. What a bigot
vernon marriott ,   Tel Aviv   (06.24.10)
Shas first run away from standing up to Haredi Ashkenazi racism and bigotry, and instead decide to dole out some bigotry themselves. This man - Babyaoff - is himself a sponger of the state, taking city council ratepayers money to finance campaigns of hate. Who does he represent I wonder? He has no mandate from the people of South Tel Aviv to peddle his views. His type were once described as the "problem of Israel" why should he slander other groups with the same vile claim.
4. I would be happy to live across from them
Israeli ,   Tel Aviv   (06.24.10)
I live in central tel aviv and go to south tel aviv often. The foreign workers are not the problem- it is the Israeli drug addicts that make the area dangerous. I would be happy to have Sudanese or Eritrian neighbours. This guy is a racist and trying to create conflict.
5. to b.g. # 1
Erik ,   prague   (06.24.10)
You should shine first of all on yourself...
6. weren't all jews refugees until a few years back?
ahmed ,   london   (06.24.10)
ah! all makes sense now.
7. rascist vermin
Avi ,   Israel   (06.24.10)
This man is not only a discrase to jewdism but also to humanity. Sh-ass brings disrespect upon Judaism - and desecrate God's name - by sending to the Knesset those who end up in jail for flaunting the very laws of the Torah they pretend to represent. 7 Sh-ass MKs so far jailed for serious offences of corruption, theft and missuse of public funds, somehow i think we can live without the advise from such low lifes as Babayoff .
8. how ironic
anderson45 ,   borogh park ny   (06.24.10)
it is,the same reason owners will not rent to hasidic jews in new york,wow
9. I'm against any type of racism
Johnny ,   Nazareth   (06.24.10)
but southern Tel aviv is becoming intolerable! I've been there some days go, like it's not part of Tel aviv anymore. Anyway this man must not talk this way. Any act of racism is not tolerable in our society!
10. I'd better pack then
JP ,   Raanana Israel   (06.24.10)
Well, as a gentile living and working here, paying my taxes, employing Israeli talent, i guess I shouldn't be allowed to rent my apartment (according to the talmud). Better go then.
11. Flats in Jlm & TA
A Jerusalemite ,   Jerusalem, Israel   (06.24.10)
Leah #2 is absolutely correct. The danger of attack on the streets at night grows because these so-called 'high class' neighbourhoods are deserted at night. That said, the problem is South Tel Aviv is due more to the forcing of these people to live in crowded and unsanitary conditions by their employers and the apartment rental owners.
12. What about us??``
Andy ,   Dublin   (06.24.10)
What abou us Centre right wing Zionists who where born Catholic not by my choice btw but who want to convert I am more Israeli than some people living in the land I wish to fight for, I went there in 2008 to tour sderot if i died from a hamas rocket that would help Eretz Yisrael to show racist Irish people it affects everyone no matter where you are from. Would you have a problem with me playing Lehakat Ha nachacl music which is my favorite and waving a 30 foot Magen David from my window just because I am not Jewish??
13. Whose is a bigot?
Norman Gellman ,   Rehovot, Israel   (06.24.10)
Shas complains about discrimination against Sephardim, but they themselves are bigots. Immigrant workers deserve to be treated with humanity and dignity; they supply the needed manpower for jobs Israelis do not want, and after all are human beings. Our treatment of immigrant workers is a shameful blot on all of us.
14. Reply # 10 JP please stay
Avi ,   Israel   (06.24.10)
Please dont pay any attention to vermin such as Babayoff from Shas. He does not represent the majoirty but a fanatical minority who live off our and your tax money and contribute nothing to society. It is decent hard working people such as yourself that makes this a great place to live. You are more than welcome and i hope you stay.
15. Visit Hatikvah & Ezra and see firsthand how bad it really is
Philip ,   Hatikvah, Tel Aviv   (06.24.10)
Not too many anglos ever go into the real parts of Tel aviv where the real foreign worker problem is. Ever been to shuk hatikvah or schunat Ezra? You'd not be able to deal with it everyday like us that live here. So keep up your finger pointing and calling us racists from the safety of your computer cause you're too scared even to set foot here or have to live next to African laborers.
16. "White Flight"
nadav ,   tlv   (06.24.10)
Both sides are right here. The liberals/leftists want these illegal immigrants to stay in Tel Aviv, but "not in their back yards" If they were to move to northern tel aviv, there would be a massive "White Flight", just like when all the liberal/Democratic Jews fled their neighborhoods in the 1970s when Hispanics and blacks moved in. This is hypocrisy at its worst! On the other hand, Babayoff is obviously a racist and a homophobe, there is no doubt about that. How would he like it if people refused to rent their flats to Bukharians/Kavakazi- which he obviously is? In fact, that happens a lot, both here in Israel, as well as in Moscow and NYC, where Ashkenazi Jews refuse to rent or live near Bukharian and Kavkazi Tat Jews- that too is wrong....
17. Refugees bring filth, crime...
David ,   Jerusalem, Israel   (06.24.10)
whereas haredim only bring filth. What a high horse they have to ride.
18. # 9 is right the area is a disgrace to us all
Israeli grandma   (06.24.10)
I used to travel through the old Central Bus station every day, but now keep as far away from there as possible, including the shuk. It was pretty dirty even then and the rows of beggars in the old days were not "nice" but not a social disaster. Its not racism to acknowledge that the whole area is a disgrace to TA Municipality and the country. I also object to the messages put out by Mr Babayof, but the plain facts are that if it wasnt for the efforts of socially aware citizens, the area would be even worse if possible. The kindergartens,schools, volunteer-run medical care etc. just put a bandage on an open social sore. Its not racism but pragmatism to want to keep Israel's limited financial resources and tax payer money for the benefit its own citizens. Surely the majority of Israelis do not wish to see their taxes wasted on the insoluble problems caused by drug addicts and pushers, the difficulties caused to our undermanned police force, which is supposed to control drunken attacks and thieving in the area & degrading prostitution. The now disgraceful state of the housing still left standing is also a problem. Only illegals and dirt poor who have no choice are willing to put up with this. My sympathies are also with the few owner occupiers who still live there in terror of their non-Israeli surroundings.
19. Response to Philip
Israeli ,   tel aviv   (06.24.10)
I am in south tel aviv often (twice a week) and spend time around the bus station (old and new). The area is flithy I admit the area is filthy and I see that the residents (mostly foreign workers but also Israelis) contribute to that filth. But dangerous? I have never seen any crime or heard of anyone being attacked. I have been going to the area for 12 years day and night. I think the crime is in the residents heads. I hear of more violent crime in Hadera.
20. more afraid of those who have Teudat Zeut
Daniel the Gentile   (06.24.10)
Oshrenko family in Rishon Letzion were slaughtered by a man who made Aliyah to Israel his name was Dimitry Kirilik. I have always been more afraid of people who own a Teudat Zeut than the foreign workers.
21. "It should be known that is strictly forbidden ...
Erastus CoupeDeVille ,   Ong's Hat, NJ USA   (06.24.10)
to rent apartments to gentiles, as explained in the Talmud. " WTF is that all about?
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