Last update - 00:00 07/08/2007
Netanya pork deli reopens for business after arson attack
By Yigal Hai, Haaretz Correspondent
Some 40 stores in Netanya sell pork, but the campaign against non-kosher meat in the city seems to focus on the Aviv delicatessen, which opened four weeks ago in the downtown Zion Square.
Around 1,500 religious residents demonstrated outside the deli during the week of Tisha B'av, and last weekend it was set on fire. The flames totally destroyed the liquor cabinet, and caused damage to the walls.
Police arrested a 36-year-old resident who was seen fleeing the site on suspicion of arson. Police said the suspect was not religious, but had a previous conviction for arson.
The deli was rapidly cleaned and whitewashed, and by Sunday it was open as usual. Security cameras had been installed, but customers expressed concern at the attack.
"Nobody has a right to tell someone else what to do and what to eat," said Lili Bergilovsky. "There is no justifying such an act in 2007."
Olga Titchinsky added "The arson is frightening, but the management should know that there are plenty of people who want to buy pork here."
The store's managers refused to comment on the incident. About a month ago, Netanya's city council approved a bylaw banning the sale of pork in the city.
The bylaw was passed despite the legal adviser's opinion that it would not be approved by the Interior Ministry or the High Court of Justice. The municipality announced a few weeks ago that it could not enforce the bylaw, because the court had ruled that it contradicted the basic laws protecting the freedom of occupation and human dignity and freedom.
Deputy Mayor Mendi Weiss (National Religious Party), who spearheaded the amendment, said the court had conditioned the enforcement of the bylaw on demarcating certain areas where pork sale would be allowed.
The validity of municipal bylaws banning the sale of pork was examined by the High Court of Justice a few years ago. In 2001-2002, residents petitioned the court against the ban on selling pork in Beit Shemesh, Carmiel and Tiberias.
The court suspended the bylaws in 2004 pending a new ruling, and instructed the municipalities to reconsider their laws in view of their "hurtful impact on people's feelings," and the distance between the pork objectors' residence and the stores selling it.
Weiss is convinced that the arson was not caused by religious extremists.
"First, we're against violence," he said. "If the delicatessen had burned down on a week day, you could say it's because of the pork thing; but would a religious person violate the Sabbath because of pork?"
"Pork is not merely a religious thing, but a national issue. The pig is symbol of Jews oppression and humiliation," he said.
Councillor Avi Lalum is acting to cancel the amendment to the bylaw.
"The situation in Netanya is volatile, and the city council must intervene," Lalum said Monday.