Livni: 'Price Tag' perpetrators are not part of my nation
Tibi warns Arabs may take action to defend their towns from "anti-Semitic Jewish hooligans."
By LAHAV HARKOVPrice tag attack Zichron Yaakov(photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)
'Price Tag' vandals oppose Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday."This morning, we woke up to hatred and racism among us," Livni wrote on Facebook. "We woke up to another 'Price Tag,' another desecrated mosque in Fureidis and more cars vandalized."I'm ashamed. Whoever did these things are not part of my nation," she added.Livni was responding to reports of vandalism of a mosque in Fureidis, near Zichron Ya'akov on Tuesday morning.Livni commended municipalities in the area for speaking out against the acts. She promised Fureidis residents that she will do all she can to catch the criminals, put them on trial, and have them serve a serious sentence."Price Tag crimes aren't against Arabs; they're against us, against everyone who wants our country to be Jewish and democratic," she stated.MK Ahmed Tibi (UAL-Ta'al) said the acts of vandalism are part of "an anti-Semitic wave executed by extremist Jewish hooligans against mosques and churches. These anti-Semites are acting without any fear that they'll be caught or punished."Tibi accused the government of incompetence in responding to Price Tag acts and warned of "local responses to defend mosques and property in Arab towns."Opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Labor) pointed out that Monday was Holocaust Remembrance Day and many spoke out against rising anti-Semitism against Jews in Europe, saying that the vandalism is no different from fascist and neo-Nazi anti-Semitic acts."In this matter, all of Israel is a joint force," he stated. "We will put all pressure possible to make sure the violence toward [Fureidis residents] stops and the criminals are severely punished."
Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Peri (Yesh Atid) said the price tag acts "hurt sacred religious values and are trying to sabotage the delicate fabric of life between Jews and Arabs in Israel."Peri also called for the police to catch and punish the perpetrators.
