Politicians warn Haifa: Don't award terror apologist with job
Za'atra's appointment as deputy mayor of Haifa sparked outrage after he made comments in support of the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.
By HAGAY HACOHENUpdated: JANUARY 11, 2019 03:10Raja Za’atra in press conference, December 12, 2018.(photo credit: FACEBOOK)
Yisrael Beiteinu MK Oded Forer slammed the Haifa municipality on Thursday for a reported decision to appoint local Hadash party member Raja Za’atra to the city’s civic defense committee.“I guess the previous tempest didn’t help Haifa understand who is walking in their halls,” Forer said, “and they decided to give him the biggest prize a terror supporter can hope for: class A intel.”Pointing to a bill proposed by his party that forbids those who supports terrorism from serving in Knesset, Forer said the law will be expanded until “Za’atra and his like will not be able to set foot in City Hall.”Likud MK Nava Boker wrote to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, and asked him to prevent Za’atra’s nomination.“This country already had spies working in our midst,” Boker said, referring to former Israeli-Arab MK Azmi Bishara, who fled Israel and now resides in Doha, Qatar, and former energy minister Gonen Segev who was convicted Wednesday for serving Iranian intelligence.“The State of Israel must do everything in its power to prevent such things from happening again,” she said.Za’atra’s appointment as deputy mayor of Haifa sparked outrage after he made comments in support of the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations. Ultimately he stepped down and relinquished the role to the number two candidate in the Haifa Hadash party, Shahira Shalabi. Za’atra still serves as a city council member.The Civic Defense Committee is responsible for the municipal preparation for a Hezbollah rocket attack or a large scale terror event, making the decision to appoint Za’atra “odd,” a Haifa city council official said.
