A group of 150 residents in the northern Israeli city of Afula held a protest on Wednesday after discovering that a fellow resident had sold his home to an Arab family.
The protest against the city becoming a mixed Jewish-Arab community was similar to one held two-and-a-half years ago, when 43 Arab-Israeli families purchased homes in Afula.
“We are against a mixed city,” said resident Adiel Eluz. “If we wanted to live in a mixed city, we would go to Nazareth Illit, Carmiel or Akko.”
The protesters waved Israeli flags and carried signs reading “Afula is not for sale.”
Former Mayor Avi Elkabetz, who this year is running for mayor again, joined the demonstration.
“The residents of Afula aren’t racist; they just want a Jewish city. I am committed to making sure that Afula doesn’t become a mixed city, just as its founders wanted,” he said.
Current Mayor Yitzhak Meron declined to comment.
Knesset member Yousef Jabareen of the Joint Arab List criticized the protest, saying, “These signs and slogans are reminiscent of dark periods in history.”