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Druze residents of Peki'in setting fires during clashes with police in the Galilee town last month. (Dror Artzi / Jini) Last update - 07:40 15/11/2007 Rightists buying housing in Druze town to boost Jewish population By Lily Galili and Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondents Tags: Right wing groups, Peki'in  Right-wing groups have recently been buying houses in the center of the Druze town of Peki'in in the Galilee, with the intention of augmenting the Jewish population there, Haaretz has learned. The Druze community's leaders learned of the concentrated effort in the aftermath of the violent riots earlier this month that rocked the town. The riots occurred when police officers encountered fierce and armed resistance in a crackdown on suspected criminals. Dozens of people were injured, including three who sustained injuries after police shot them using live rounds. The purchase of houses around the ancient synagogue in the old town were revealed in an independent survey the Druze leaders had commissioned after the riots. Advertisement The leadership of the Druze community told Haaretz that they viewed the acquisition of real estate as "provocations meant to fan the flames in town." They stressed that the people who purchased the houses near the synagogue are "different politically from the rest of the Jewish population of Peki'in, which has lived there for a long time." The probe by the Druze leadership found that the houses had been purchased primarily by the Lower Galilee Association, which paid five times the real value. Rightists engaged in buying real estate in Hebron and East Jerusalem are known to have employed the same tactics. The case of Peki'in seems to be the first time these methods are applied within the Green Line. One of the association's activists involved with purchasing houses in the ancient mixed Jewish-Druze town is Rabbi Aviv Ziegelman, who came to Peki'in four years ago from a settlement in the West Bank. Aviv is known as a close ally of Moshe Feiglin, who heads the Likud's Jewish Leadership faction. Feiglin gave Aviv his blessing upon his decision to move to Peki'in. The other association working to change the town's ethnic makeup is Peki'in Forever, which acts under the banner of fortifying the Jewish connection to the town. One of the activists, Shimon Freulich, who moved to Peki'in from the West Bank settlement of Kedumim, told Haaretz that he has a waiting list of 1,000 Jews who are willing to move to Peki'in. The only constraint, Freulich said, was the lack of houses. Until recently, Freulich would house tourist groups in his Peki'in home, as well as a group of young settlers from Kfar Tapuah. He is now rebuilding his home that was destroyed in the riots. He plans to move back in as soon as the renovation is complete. Most sellers appear to be Christians residents - which creates added tensions between the various ethnic and religious groups in the village. Haaretz has learned that a group of Christians from Peki'in have recently set up a committee devoted to dissuading other Christians from selling to Jewish groups. "We lack the financial power to fight this trend," says Mohammed Khir, head of local council. "These people are prepared to pay twice the real price and even more for an old house." Khir says the opposition to the purchase of houses in Peki'in is not an anti-Jewish stance. "We have Jewish families who arrived here and became part of the village," he said. "By contrast, there are extreme rightists who give us the feeling that they are there to take over the village in the name of historical right. If we're talking historical rights, than they should give us back the Druze towns that gave disappeared over the years. Saleh Khir, who headed the local council for 15 years before Mohammed, shares the incumbent council head's concern vis-a-vis the Jewish acquisition of real estate. Saleh Khir, who now chairs the Committee of Residents for Peki'in, traces the Jewish real estate drive back to before his term in office, 20 years ago. That's when the Jewish National Fund bought 12 houses in the village's center. Saleh Khir succeeding in preventing the sale of houses over the Druze prayer house, by telling the JNF's district manager that the people of Peki'in would view such a move as a crude act of provocation. "That was when the plan was started," Saleh Khir says. The JNF, however, never populated the houses with Jewish occupants. They remained empty after the Druze people of Peki'in demanded to move in, citing their rights for housing after serving in the Israel Defense Forces. The empty apartment buildings, now in a dilapidated state after years of neglect, are still empty today. "When we found out the houses had been bought, we figured it was the Jewish Agency or the JNF again," Saleh Khir told Haaretz on Wednesday. "We never thought this was a new plan. We still have the houses that were bought 20 years ago, gathering lichen. They are like a thorn in our sides with their signs declaring them unstable and dangerous." Commenting on the riots that erupted two weeks ago, Freulich says that "the Jews haven't seen such a pogrom since Kristallnacht." He said that the accusations that he and his associates were making provocations were reminiscent of "how the Germans used to speak." Related articles: MKs slam police 'unrestrained use of violence' in Druze town Police release photos of masked men wrecking Peki'in home Editorial: Too much of a reflex response Haaretz.com TV: 40 people injured in clash with police in Peki'in Bookmark to del.icio.us   Undressed to impress Yeshiva student strips in a supermarket to protest sale of chametz during Passover. Ante up Hamas offers truce in return for a Palestinian state along Israel's pre-1967 borders.   1.   I`m always amazed at how racist and race obssessed jew are 02:56  |  Jew Hunter 15/11/07   2.   What`s the problem 03:08  |  * BEN JABO 15/11/07   3.   Let the free market run its course-- In the West Bank as well 03:10  |  David G 15/11/07   4.   The horror! Jews buying property in the Jewish homeland! 07:20  |  Jew 15/11/07   5.   And this shows the man`s mettle 07:47  |  sh 15/11/07   6.   Religious rightists - Leave Peki`in to the Druze! 08:11  |  Dakkar 15/11/07   7.   this i got to see 08:18  |  x299arod28 15/11/07   8.   SO WHAT 08:27  |  Nephtaly 15/11/07   9.   Israel`s fight for the land 08:31  |  Zion Watchman 15/11/07   10.   What`s the beef? 08:44  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 15/11/07   11.   This smells like racism 08:55  |  Zev 15/11/07   12.   to Margie the moderator 08:56  |  Puhi 15/11/07   13.   JEWISH PEQI`IN IS GOOD. TEACH THE DRUZE NOAHIDE LAWS AND MOSHIACH 09:05  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 15/11/07   14.   DRUZE VENERATE JETHRO,MOSES`FATHER-IN-LAW.THEY COULD BE RIGHTEOUS 09:09  |  VOICE)))))))) 15/11/07   15.   I don`t believe this is out of brotherly love 09:16  |  Tzfonit 15/11/07   16.   Peki`in Is NOT A "Druze Village" 09:18  |  Yishai Kohen 15/11/07   17.   Peki`in`s unbroken Jewish settlement 09:26  |  Mark 15/11/07   18.   jews and land 09:42  |  fish 15/11/07   19.   real estate in Peki`in 09:47  |  a buyer and seller 15/11/07   20.   we must stand united against jewish penetration of Arab lands 09:49  |  Leon Rosgarten 15/11/07   21.   to Dakkar 10:03  |  the pope 15/11/07   22.   to Mark 10:10  |  the pope 15/11/07   23.   The beef 10:20  |  sh 15/11/07   24.   Both sides R Nuts 11:02  |  FOX 15/11/07   25.   Should we ban Druze from buying houses in Jewish towns? 11:13  |  getting sad 15/11/07   26.   It is not entirely clear to me why is it news to see Jews 11:45  |  Shauli 15/11/07   27.   Jew Hunter aka neo-nazi 12:17  |  Nik "Banned" Miller 15/11/07   28.   Pekin 12:18  |  Maerton 15/11/07   29.   So now Jews can`t BUY land in some parts of Israel? 13:00  |  Kobi 15/11/07   30.   More ways than one, "getting sad" 13:00  |  Murray 15/11/07   31.   #1 jew hater 13:35  |  Itsik 15/11/07   32.   Margie 13:38  |  Itsik 15/11/07   33.   sh snakes & rightwingers. 13:39  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 15/11/07   34.   #11 Zev 13:39  |  Itsik 15/11/07   35.   Itsik # 34 15:30  |  Zev 15/11/07   36.   #20 Rosgarten 15:55  |  * BEN JABO 15/11/07   37.   What`s the problem? Here`s the problem: 16:07  |  Dani Kabel 18/11/07   38.   A quick look at the Druze lifestyle 16:17  |  Guy Shlomi 18/11/07   39.   Attack of Defense? 16:19  |  Kareen Nehamya 18/11/07   40.   Druze Friends 17:02  |  Danny Moyal 18/11/07   41.   Druze friends 04:49  |  * BEN JABO 19/11/07   42.   if rightests facists tried to become my neighbours.... 15:06  |  SMith 21/04/08   43.   #4 Jew. The real horror is racist Israel! 00:58  |  Maureen Ann 22/04/08

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