Around 150 Israelis shouting “Death to Arabs and to Jews who date Arabs” gathered in the town of Bat Yam this week for a rally called “Keep Bat Yam Jewish”. They referenced the edict recently signed by dozens of Israeli rabbis calling on Jews to refuse to rent to non-Jews.Rabbi Yosef Scheinen of the Ashdod Yeshiva stated, ‘Racism originated in the Torah. The land of Israel is designated for the people of Israel. This is what the Holy One Blessed Be He intended and that is what the [sage] Rashi interpreted.’
The rally was organized by a new group called “A Jewish Bat Yam”, made up of local Jewish Israelis who want to rid the town of its Palestinian residents. The group stated that their goal is to enforce the edict of the rabbis to prevent any property from being rented to non-Jews.
Participants in the rally also stated their fear that Jewish girls would date or marry Arab men. Some carried signs reading “Jews, let’s win – daughters of Israel for sons of Israel.” A group of left-wing counter-protesters chanted in Hebrew, “If your sister is as disgusting as you, who would hit on her?”
The rally in Bat Yam follows similar actions in other Israeli towns, some of which resulted in violence against local Palestinians, as mobs of angry right-wing Jewish Israelis threw stones and even fired guns at the Palestinians.
