by Gil Ronen (IsraelNationalNews.com)
Published: 06/13/10, 6:52 PM / Last Update: 06/13/10, 7:55 PM
www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138037.

The naval operation against the Gaza flotilla has soured relations between
Jews and Arabs inside the community of Neveh Shalom, which was created to be
a model of coexistence between the two nationalities.

According to daily newspaper Maariv, the rift began when the village's
council - most of whose members are Arabs - put up a sign in Hebrew, English
and Arabic at the entrance to Neveh Shalom: "The residents of Wahat
el-Salaam / Neveh Shalom protest the murder of the activists on the 'Freedom
Flotilla' and demand an end to the siege of Gaza."

When Jewish residents saw the sign, they immediately contacted the Council
Head Ias Shabita and asked that it be removed, or its content amended.
Shabita refused to remove the sign but consented to change one word, and on
the next day, the word "murder" was changed to "killing."

"We told him we don't agree to it," Jewish resident Eli Shachar related. "We
protested the matter in a conversation and announced that we would act in
any way possible against these expressions. Under no circumstances do we
agree that IDF soldiers will be called murderers."

A stormy argument ensued, after which the council decided to bring back the
original sign, with the word "murder." In response, the Jewish residents
decided to put up their own sign, which said: "We, residents of Neveh
Shalom, protest against the hanging of signs in Israel that express a
one-sided viewpoint. We protest the attack by radicals from the 'peace'
flotilla on IDF soldiers and demand the immediate release of Gilad Shalit."

The council's response was swift: The Jewish residents' sign was vandalized.
"They threatened that they would kick us out of the community because of
this," Shachar said.

Neveh Shalom - "Oasis of Peace" - is located west of Jerusalem, near Beit
Horon, and is home to about 50 families. It was established in 1969 by a
Dominican priest, Bruno Hussar, who was born to a Jewish family in Egypt. In
his autobiography, Hussar described the vision for the community: "People
would come here from all over the country to meet those from whom they were
estranged, wanting to break down the barriers of fear, mistrust, ignorance,
misunderstanding, preconceived ideas - all things that separate us - and to
build bridges of trust, respect, mutual understanding, and, if possible,
friendship. This aim would be achieved with the help of courses, seminars,
group psychology techniques, shared physical work and recreational
evenings."