Interior Minister Moshe Arbel Pena on Thursday chastised Givatayim Mayor Ran Connick for his statement yesterday that "at the moment, the presence of Arab workers is problematic."
"Unfortunately, I was presented with your statement that 'at the moment, the presence of Arab workers is problematic.' This explains your decision to shut down construction sites, reduce the presence of Arab workers in infrastructure projects, and even clean the streets. This decision joins decisions by other mayors to shut down construction sites during this period. Such decisions shatter the fabric of shared life in the country. They harm not only the livelihoods of these workers (as well as many other non-Arab workers), but mainly their dignity and constitutional right to equality," Minister Arbel writes.
"In doing so, the decision plays into the hands of our enemies, who seek to sow division and enmity between the citizens of Israel. We must reiterate the obvious – regarding the existence of a strict prohibition against harming a person's livelihood on the basis of origin, nationality or religion. This is whether the harm is direct (through dismissal) or indirect, so that workers of a certain origin will not be able to work in the city or on a construction site or business. This is as true for construction workers as it is for workers in other professions," he wrote.
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Minister Arbel also emphasized that "precisely at this difficult time in the history of our people and in the history of the state and all its citizens, it is important to preserve the rights of all citizens of the state, to calm and support the public and not to inflame and incite. Among the victims of the murderous terrorist attack on Saturday, October 7 and the rocket launches were quite a few Israeli Arabs. Among the heroic rescuers, doctors and nurses who worked to save lives were many Arabs. We must remember this and not turn against each other."
Meanwhile, the Association of Contractors filed a petition this week demanding the opening of construction sites in the cities of Ramat Gan, Givatayim and Bat Yam. Representatives of the contractors warned that continued prevention of construction would lead to irreversible damage on an astronomical scale to contractors, the risk of the collapse of companies employing tens of thousands of Israelis, damage to hundreds of thousands of customers, and collateral damage to the economy, due to the risk to the financial system that provided huge amounts of credit to the industry.
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