
Tzfat Mayor Ilan Shochet on Monday suspended a municipal worker who posted on his personal Facebook page a message that supported anti-Israel terror groups, according to Kikar Hashabbat.
The message, which the worker reposted on his page, read “Zionism is the enemy of humanity. We are all Palestine.”
Shochet called the sanitation department worker, a resident of the village of Dir el-Asad, to his office for a hearing Monday, after receiving dozens of complaints from residents about the posting.
Shochet sent the worker home without pay for an unspecified period. Shortly afterwards, the posting disappeared from his Facebook page.
Explaining his actions, Shochet said that “democracy is tested during times of crises, but democracy also has borders. I find it unacceptable that workers, who get their salaries from a government organization, would support our enemies and their incitement against the state. They cannot dance at two weddings, and benefit from both worlds,” he said.
Such postings were especially inappropriate, he said, “especially at this time when our best people are bravely fighting and sacrificing themselves, defending Israelis without regard for religion, race, or national origin, so that we can all live in peace and security. I want to make clear that our city promotes coexistence and employs dozens of Arabs, who do their jobs faithfully. I also condemn the racism that many Israeli Arabs suffer,” he added.