Uri Avnery: "The mayor did well when he stopped the campaign of incitement in Karmiel by Milstein. Now he has to finish the job and immediately disband the racist militia which is terrorizing his city."

Gush Shalom welcomes the announcement of Karmiel Mayor Adi Eldar, about the dissolution of the municipal ruling coalition and the dismissal of his deputy, Oren Milstein. This, after Milstein's initiatives to exclude Arabs from Karmiel and his racist expressions.

As is known, Milstein recently established the "City Guard" in Karmiel, which is actually a racist militia whose declared purpose is to prevent the entry of Arab neighbors into the town during the evening. Consequently, the representatives of Gush Shalom, Uri Avnery and Adam Keller, turned to the Attorney General, demanding that he take steps to disband the organization and open an investigation against Milstein.

In the appeal they explained that "the aims and activities of the Karmiel City Guard, as described candidly by its founder, are manifestly and blatantly racist and illegal. There is no doubt that Israeli citizens - irrespective of religion, race and nationality - have the full and inalienable right to move freely all over the country, enter each and every city or village, every public place, as they see fit and, without asking anyone's permission or being accountable to anyone - certainly not to a racist and hateful Karmiel militia.

Later, as published in the media, it became clear that Milstein was also behind the Purple Email initiative, also known as "Informer Email", inviting residents of Karmiel to report on Arabs intending to buy an apartment in the city, so as to prevent such transactions from being carried out. Also this racist initiative led to controversy in the city; many residents refused to accept such clearly racist activities, undermining their relationship with neighbors in the region.

Former Knesset member Uri Avnery adds that "Milstein tried to accumulate political capital and ride the current countrywide wave of racism. Such a person, who built his political career on wild incitement against Arab citizens of Israel, should never have served as a Depury Mayor. It was an error of Adi Eldar to appoint Milstein to such a position, but good that he corrected the mistake and stopped Milstein's campaign of incitement in Karmiel. Now he has to finish the job and immediately disband the racist militia which is terrorizing his city."

We hope that the removal of Milstein marks a turning point in the racist wave flooding us. It began with racist Knesset bills, racist statements by cabinet ministers, racist rulings by rabbis, and it spread on the ground in phenomena such as incitement to violence in the streets of Safed.

It should be determined, once and for all, that Arab citizens of Israel have an inalienable right to rent or to buy any apartment offered for rent or sale, whether in Karmiel, Safed, or elsewhere in the country, just like any other Israeli citizen.

Contact: Adam Keller, Gush Shalom spokesperson 054-2340749