Anti-racism rally held in al-Quds
Palestinian and Israeli activists have held a demonstration to protest against the murder of a Palestinian man by Israeli settlers and the ban on selling or renting to Arabs declared by some rabbis.
Hundreds of people gathered in central al-Quds (Jerusalem) late on Saturday to protest against the murder of Hussam al-Rweidi two weeks ago, AFP reported.
The 24-year-old was returning home from work in west al-Quds when he and three other Palestinians were stabbed in what witnesses called an unprovoked attack. Hussam was critically injured and taken to a hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Addressing the people at Saturday's demonstration, which was organized by several left-wing Israeli groups, Hussam's father called for the prosecution of the people involved in the crime.
The protesters condemned the rise in racism in Israel and called for the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
They also called for the dismissal of hawkish Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the ultra-nationalist party Yisrael Beiteinu and who is accused of promoting a racist, anti-Palestinian climate in Israel.
In December 2010, 50 Israeli rabbis issued a ruling that bans Jewish people from selling or renting their homes to Arabs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The decree also requires neighbors and acquaintances of whoever sells or rents an apartment to non-Jews in areas where Jews live to warn the person, keep their distance from him or her, and refrain from conducting business with him or her.
A recent survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 53 percent of Israelis believe that the Israeli government has the right to deport Palestinian citizens and almost half of Jewish Israelis would be bothered by having a Palestinian neighbor.
Israel occupied and then annexed the West Bank and East al-Quds in the Six-Day War of 1967, but the move has never been recognized by the international community.
MRS/AGB/HGL
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