Israeli Arab parliamentarian Samy Abu Shahadeh calls Jews living in the Israel city of Jaffa “settlers”
Headline: “The occupation police and extremists attack Arab protesters in Jaffa”
“Two nights ago [April 18, 2021], the supporters of Jewish Rabbi [Eliyahu Mali] in Jaffa attacked [Arab] residents of the city, who protested against the intention of the [Israeli] state-run [housing] company Amidar to evacuate one of the inhabited Arab structures in the Ajami neighborhood and sell it to the rabbi (sic., the Jewish protesters did not attack Arab residents, but rather protested how Arab residents had assaulted Rabbi Mali; see note below).
The Israeli occupation police attacked the residents with stun grenades and tear gas and arrested three Arab protesters (the police used crowd dispersal methods after they were attacked by Arab rioters throwing rocks and burning tires -Ed.).
The rabbi is the dean of the Shirat Moshe Yeshiva (i.e., religious studies academy) in the Ajami neighborhood, Eliyahu Mali. The yeshiva was originally a Palestinian home whose residents were uprooted from the city in 1948, and the state-run company Amidar took control of it.
Israeli [Arab] Parliament Member [Samy] Abu Shahadeh issued a statement in which he said: ‘The Israeli police is the main one responsible for what is happening in Jaffa, and the plans of uprooting will not pass.’
He added: ‘The Israeli police are wildly attacking the protestors who came to stand against the settlers who attempted to provoke the residents. The reason for this is the racist nature of the police, which treats the Arab citizens as enemies and protects the settlers and criminals.’”
Rabbi Eliyahu Mali, dean of the Shirat Moshe Yeshiva (religious studies academy), was assaulted by two Arab residents of Jaffa on April 18, 2021, while he was looking at a property for the yeshiva to buy in order to house students. The attack came as the Israeli state-run housing company Amidar had begun selling absentee landlord properties in Jaffa, whose owners left in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, and which therefore fell into state possession.