The West Bank town of Ariel has abandoned a plan to require Arab day laborers to wear tags with the inscription “Alien Worker,” which was originally proposed as a security measure.
The settlers backed off in the face of outraged protests from many of their right-wing supporters, as well as on the political left.
In the opinion of critics, the tag was a comparison to the yellow Star of David that Jews were required to wear in Nazi-occupied Europe.
It was called “insensitive and unwise” by Likud minister Ehud Olmert, a leading right-wing politician.
Mayor Ron Nahman of Ariel, who proposed the tag idea, angrily rejected the analogy.
“Only a warped mind, ignorance and stupidity can bring one to compare (the Holocaust) in Europe and the security needs of every settlement in Judea, Samaria and Israel,” Nahman said.
Nevertheless, he rescinded the order. He also strongly condemned attacks on journalists by townspeople last Friday.
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