Tel Aviv censors Arab presence —and dissent

We've warned before that if Israel continues on its accelerating trajectory deeper into Jewish chauvinism and monocultural supremacy, it may have to forfeit its long-touted claim to the title of the "Middle East's only democracy." (Especially given that Israel is ironically fast becoming a more closed society simultaneous with the unprecedented political opening in the Arab world.) We've also warned that one of the ways this chauvinism is manifesting is in the Judaization of geography in Jerusalem, and the censoring of the old Arab place names by the municipal authorities. Now a similar controversy emerges from Tel Aviv. From Ha'aretz, Aug. 10:

Tel Aviv municipality censors speech by Arab city council member
A speech by Tel Aviv-Jaffa city council member Ahmed Mashharawi, in which he proposed that the city add an Arabic inscription to its official logo, was edited out of a recording of a recent city council meeting.

The video was posted to city hall's official YouTube page, where it regularly posts recordings of city council meetings. However, around 33 minutes into the video, after Mashharawi is called to the podium to give his speech, the recording abruptly skips to Mayor Ron Huldai's response to his motion.

In a comment he wrote on Facebook, Mashharawi, of the Meretz party, wrote that he "couldn't believe" someone would censor his comments out of the recording. "It began with closing [city council] meetings to the public and now they are censoring parts," he wrote, adding, "Shame on you."

Shame indeed.