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Last update - 22:27 12/10/2008 An unnecessary prize for violence By Haaretz Editorial Tags: Acre, Israel News  The Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee will convene today to discuss the difficult events taking place in Acre and the decision of mayor Shimon Lankri to cancel the Fringe Theater Festival, which was scheduled to open in the city during the intermediate days of Sukkot. Lankri claims the atmosphere of "anger and offense" among residents will not allow the festival to take place. However, committee chair Ophir Pines-Paz is certain the event is an important means of strengthening Acre's image as a cultural center and symbol of coexistence. "Canceling the festival is a prize for violence," Pines-Paz said. Lankri's decision is hasty and mistaken. Police commanders said that large numbers of security forces would be needed to secure the festival area even after the storm dies down, but they did not recommend canceling the event. Why then does Lankri rush, at the end of the holiday and the peak of the riots, to call on the "nation of Israel" to throng to the festival, only to make the opposite statement shortly afterward? Advertisement The mayor's helplessness is fanning the flames of the city's bonfire of the vanities, which will anyway require greater efforts to extinguish. The false impression of calm, controlled coexistence in a city that is not really mixed but built of neighborhoods of separate populations, conceals explosive rage and bitterness caused by the residents' ever-growing struggle. Even the Jews who settled in the city in different periods since the state's founding were mostly poor new immigrants. These new weak classes added to the existing poverty and distress of the Arabs, and the city suffered from severe negative migration. In recent years, since the decision by former prime minister Ariel Sharon to strengthen Jewish communities in mixed cities, Acre's Jews have enjoyed tax reductions and generous budget allocations, giving the city a facelift. There were other sides to Acre's "Judaization." The neighborhood of professional army officers in the north of the city and the Hesder yeshiva (which combines army service with Torah study) are active. But these only deepened the already strong feelings of discrimination and offense among Arab residents. Religious, economic and social tensions therefore deepened - and not for religious or nationalistic reasons, as some extremist political voices have claimed. A clear example of this came with the October 2000 riots, in which 12 Israeli Arab citizens and a Palestinian were killed by police during demonstrations in the city of Umm al-Fahm. The Or Commission, established to investigate the tragic event, emphasized the link between the systematic discrimination suffered by Israel's Arab citizens and the bitterness, anger and frustration that resulted in the escalation of the usual Land Day demonstration held every year. The commission members delineated the various areas of discrimination and showed how every successive government failed to fulfill its promises to the Arab public. But despite the grave warning sounded by the commission, no government has implemented even one of its recommendations. There is no shortcut in trying to calm spirits in Acre or anywhere else, and such efforts must be made in every government ministry by means of a comprehensive and courageous program. Canceling the festival, which will primarily hurt Arab merchants in the city, adds unnecessary weight to the calls to "punish the Arabs," and is the exact opposite of such a plan. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Seeds of the future An Israeli biofuel project using Africa's jatropha plant may end Mideast oil power. PFLP threat A Palestinian militant group vows to kill MK Lieberman to avenge Acre riots.   1.   Acre riots 11:35  |  Bryna Weiss 13/10/08   2.   Acre riots 22:34  |  Miryam Alfandari 13/10/08

Read & React Bradley Burston: This year, this Jew is embracing Jihad Responses: 55 Jesse Jackson: Obama will rid United States of 'Zionist' control Responses: 46 Police arrest driver who sparked Acre riots for 'harming religious sensitivities' Responses: 317 Sources: Hamas has raised price of Shalit deal in wake of Kuntar release Responses: 104 More Headlines 01:35 IDF troops kill Palestinian fire-bomber near West Bank settlement 01:56 Shas hardens line after Kadima, Labor sign coalition deal 00:52 Hezbollah hails 'heroic' Arab fight in Acre against 'barbaric' assaults 19:30 Rice pledges to pursue Israel-PA peace until she leaves office 07:37 This year, this Jew is embracing jihad 00:09 Jesse Jackson: Obama will rid United States of 'Zionist' control 21:09 Israeli biofuel project could spell end of Mideast oil power 16:34 Palestinian group vows to kill MK Lieberman to avenge Acre riots 13:54 Syria formally establishes diplomatic ties with Lebanon 01:01 Woman dies in crash while driving pregnant daughter to hospital 00:45 U.S. plan to pump $250b into banking system lifts Wall Street stocks 01:15 Acre group to partially reopen festival shut by clashes 01:43 As economic crisis hits tourism, Israelis likely to stay put 20:06 Israel trip helps Brad Pitt shoot Angelina Jolie breastfeeding pics Previous Editions Select Day 14 oct 13 oct 12 oct 10 oct 09 oct 08 oct 07 oct 06 oct 05 oct 03 oct 02 oct 01 oct

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