Israeli parliament 'marks' Arab workers

and they tell us there's no apartheid in Israel?

na'eem


Israeli parliament 'marks' Arab workers

Reuters Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Israel's parliament ordered red paint daubed on the hard hats of 
Israeli Arabs building its new annex to mark them as potential 
security risks, drawing charges of racism from Arab lawmakers. 
Parliamentary speaker Reuven Rivlin ordered the practice stopped 
after the outcry. 
"I am not of the generation of Holocaust victims ... nonetheless, I 
am very sensitive to any tagging," Mr Rivlin told Israel Radio, 
alluding to the yellow Stars of David that Nazis forced Jews to wear 
during World War Two. 
Ahmed Tibi, a legislator from the Israeli Arab Ta-al party, said he 
had complained to Rivlin about "the outrageous action" of "racial 
discrimination" in parliament "which should be based on democracy 
and equality". 
Parliamentary spokesman Giora Pardes said some 25 Israeli Arabs 
hired by a contractor building the annex were allowed to begin work 
before a stringent security check, which takes up to four months, 
was completed. 
The Knesset security officer permitted them to start work on 
condition the contractor marked their hard hats for easy 
identification by parliament guards.
Mr Pardes said all workers at parliament must go through similar 
checks. 
But Mr Tibi told Reuters the decision to mark the helmets was 
symptomatic of a "virus of racism" that has infected Israeli society. 
Arabs make up some 20 per cent of the population of the Jewish 
state and have long complained about discrimination in housing, 
education and job opportunities. 
--Reuters

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1062461.htm