Tel Aviv’s (Israel’s second capital) deputy Mayor Arnon Giladi, a member of the right-wing Likud party, has suggested reopening a cultural center or club near an Arab cemetery in the southern Kfar Shalem district of the city. The cemetery is the burial spot of prominent Palestinian Sheikh Raed Salameh.

Muslims in Israel have in recent years made the site a point of visitation for students in order to impress upon them their heritage in the land of Palestine.

Islamic law, as with Jewish and Christian custom if not law, that cemeteries are supposed to be the places of solemnity. Clearly a club would offend the sensibilities of any religious group. But a crude racist like Mr. Shalem simply and falsely retorted, “It’s a known fact that Muslims do not sanctify their graves as Jews do.”

Although aware that such an action could spark riots between Arabs and Jews in the city, especially in light of the Yom Kippur Arab-Jewish riots a few weeks ago and that several Israeli were recently arrested trying to burn down the homes of Arabs in Tel Aviv, he nonetheless dismissed them. “I have no interest in all of this. All I want is to build a youth cultural club in a place which has already been used for this purpose,” he then added, “if anyone from the radical Left is interested in acting openly against the youth’s interests in Tel Aviv’s neighborhoods and in favor of the interests of Israel’s enemies, they will face a very firm front on the part of myself and the sane voices in the City Hall.”

Arab Council Member Rifat “Jimmy” Turk of the left-wing party Meretz issued a lengthy replay to the proposal:

“Aronon Giladi keeps on trying to hurt Arabs, during his last tenure as well. He began by canceling Tel Aviv’s twin city agreement with Gaza. He is a low-level politician.

It appears that Giladi and other small politicians coming here for the elections are trying to go to extremes in order to gain popularity. Instead of taking care of Kfar Shalem and Hatikva neighborhood, he is looking to flare up the situation. I’m telling him and his friends from here that if he’s looking for provocations, it will be something big that everyone will regret

I would like to believe that Tel Aviv’s mayor will not follow a fool throwing a stone into a well and thousands of professors will not remove it. This is Muslim land, on Muslim territory, and neither he nor the mayor are authorized to touch this holy place. Whoever hurts what is holy to us, mosques and cemeteries, will lead to an ignition.

“He has enough places to find for youth clubs. He shouldn’t mess with us. After what happened at Hatikva neighborhood with those young people who torched Arabs’ homes, he is trying to cause a flare up instead of calming the situation down? Let’s see if he’s man enough to carry out this move. It won’t pass peacefully, and this will be a real shame.”

Let’s see if the American press notices this hostile and insensitive proposed act. And let’s see how the Israeli government, which is prosecuting an Arab for religious insensitivity for having the temerity to drive during Yom Kippur, responds to this action and any subsequent Arab replay.