Yom Kippur riots garner strong reactions from lawmakers

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
acre smashed window 224.88 (photo credit: Channel 10)
acre smashed window 224.88
(photo credit: Channel 10)
The Arab-Jewish Yom Kippur riots garnered strong reactions from political leaders. MK Ahmed Tibi (UAL) called the riots a "Jewish pogrom," and said the police were handling the "attack against the Arab residents" in a discriminatory manner. Hadash MK Muhammad Barakei echoed Tibi's words, saying that "fascist gangs in Acre carried out a pogrom against Arabs, reminiscent of dark days in human history. We have been warning for a while of the expansion of these gangs in Acre, whose only purpose is to harass the Arabs." "Mixed cities are supposed to serve as a model of coexistence... The police must impose order, otherwise these cities will turn into ticking time bombs," MK Nadia Hilou (Labor) commented Thursday night. Hilou, who heads the Knesset lobby for mixed cities, called on Public Security Minister Avi Dichter to come to Acre. "I foresee an immediate danger - these sorts of riots might spread to the rest of the region," she added. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in response to the riots that maintaining coexistence between Arab and Jewish sectors in Israel was a highly important mission. He called on Acre residents to show restraint and to do their best to make efforts to get life in the city back on track. Kadima leader Tzipi Livni spoke with Acre Mayor Shimon Lankri, who updated her on events. Israel Beiteinu MK Estherina Tartman said, "The pogrom in Acre is another proof that the Arabs of Israel are the real threat to the state. There is no solution [other than] a swap of territories," she said. Israel's only Arab minister, Ghaleb Majadle (Labor) said he believed that the Acre riot was "an exceptional and unusual incident, and I hope it won't repeat itself." MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) called on Public Security Minister Avi Dichter and Cohen to resign. "Israel has become the only country in the world where pogroms against Jews are taking place, [with participants] harming them, their property and calling to kill the Jews. A police [force] incapable of protecting the Jewish residents of Acre and Peki'in needs to reassess itself," Steinitz said. Israel Police Commissioner Ch.-Insp. Dudi Cohen held a special situation assessment meeting at an Acre police station on Thursday evening and admitted that local police were caught off guard by the outbreak of hostilities. "I am aware of the evidence and witness to the consequences," Cohen said, alluding to the widespread damage. "It is difficult for me to assess whether the incident was nationalistically motivated or simply an act of hooliganism; we will know this later on. I wish to stress that the Acre Police Department is prepared for this Yom Kippur in accordance with recent years and we had no information indicating that such as incident was about to occur." Shelly Paz and JPost.com staff contributed to this report