Upper Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gapso tells local Arabic-language weekly “Kul el-Arab” if he had been present during October 2000 clashes between Palestinian- Arabs in Israel and police, more Arabs would have been killed.

Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality – Communist Party of Israel) Chairman MK Muhammad Barake asked yesterday (Sunday) the attorney general to weigh in on whether Upper Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gapso should be allowed to remain in office in light of remarks to the weekly. Gapso, whom police recommended in March be indicted for graft, also said his city would never become a mixed Arab-Jewish city, although 16 percent of its residents were Arab.

Gapso in court, indicted for graft (photo: Haaretz)

“The picture emerges of a mayor in Israel leading racist policies in broad daylight, who does not hesitate to intentionally harm the most basic rights of citizens dependent on him for education and religious services,” wrote Barake to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein.

A Hadash spoke-person reminded that in 2008, the predecessor of Weinstein, Menachem Mazuz, had disqualified the mayor of Ramle, Yoel Lavi, as a candidate for head of the Israel Lands Administration for making racist remarks against Ramle’s Arab population.

MK Afo Agbaria (Hadash ), who heads the Knesset anti-racism caucus, said racism was spreading from cabinet ministers to mayors.

Two city council members, Dr. Shukri Awawdeh, a Communist Party of Israel Central Committee member and the Hadash activist Dr. Riad Gatas, said Gapso made the remarks to conceal what they charged was his failure to run the city properly. They said they would call a meeting of opposition council members to ask the interior minister to dismiss Gapso.