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Three arrested, flag burned in second night of Jaffa protests

Dozens of Arab Israeli protesters, joined by a handful of left-wing Jewish Israeli activists, demonstrated in front of the site of a proposed yeshiva in the Ajami neighborhood.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Street demonstrations in Jaffa continued for the second straight night on Monday, after an assault on a rabbi sparked protests on Sunday.

Dozens of Arab Israeli protesters, joined by a handful of left-wing Jewish Israeli activists, demonstrated in front of the site of a proposed yeshiva in the Ajami neighborhood.

Demonstrators burned a Tel Aviv municipality flag and three protesters were arrested, including a minor who was reportedly setting off fireworks aimed at police officers.

A police van transporting the minor to a local police station was blocked by demonstrators, forcing the police to employ “riot dispersal methods” to clear the road.

The minor was released several hours later.

Tensions in the mixed Arab-Jewish municipality originally boiled over on Sunday afternoon as Rabbi Eliyahu Mali, head of the Shirat Moshe Yeshiva, inquired about purchasing a site in Jaffa for further use by the institution.

A group of Arab Israeli men surrounded Mali and a colleague and demanded that they leave the area. When they refused, the pair were beaten, with images of the attack on social media showing Mali, 60, being kicked to the ground.

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Police arrested the alleged perpetrators several hours later.

Rioting began on Sunday evening, when mostly haredi Jewish protesters gathered in the city to decry the anti-Semitic violence. Arab Israeli counter-protesters taunted the group, chanting “Settlers, go home!”

The Arab Israeli demonstration devolved into a riot, with protesters throwing projectiles at police officers and setting fires.

The car of a Jewish driver passing through the area was attacked by an angry mob throwing stones.

Speaking to local journalists on Monday evening, imam Bilal Dacha blasted police for quickly arresting the men who’d assaulted Mali.

According to Dacha, police prioritized the investigation of the beating of a Jewish man over scores of murders of Arab Israelis.

“Dozens of people have been murdered and not a single person has been arrested. It’s a disgrace!” he said.

On Monday, Arab Joint List MK Sami Abu Shehadeh praised the Jaffa rioters, saying he was “proud” of them for “defending” the city.

He then suggested that a Jew attempting to buy an apartment in Jaffa was a “settler” — despite the fact that Jaffa has been part of Israel since 1948.

“We are the victim,” Abu Shehadeh told Ynet. “The settlers want to show the Arabs who’s boss, and who’s the lord of this racist and shocking country.

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“What happened was very difficult and unfortunately also predictable…The settlers came to cause a provocation.”

But a colleague of Mali’s challenged Abu Shehadeh’s narrative that he’d engaged in a “settlement” project, saying that he’d long lived and worked in Jaffa, maintained positive relations with Arab neighbors, and promoted coexistence.

“Rabbl Mali established the yeshiva and a number of other institutions 13 years ago in Jaffa,” Moshe Shandovitz told Ynet.

He said that Mali’s institutions “educate for good neighborliness, altruism, and kindness.”