Dear Sir/Madam, We (American/Israeli citizens) find ourselves in a situation here. We have been living in Arad for some time and this past year, the ultra-orthodox Jews have decided to target all Christians and Messianic Jews to push them out of town. This is nothing new in Israel, however, the Mayor (newly-elected) has decided to back the orthodox Jews. We find ourselves being the target of daily picketing at our houses, slander, vandalism, and even physical attacks. Needless to say, under these circumstances, the police are doing nothing to help us. Arad has always been a secular town and very tolerant and a model for peace between the Arabs and Jews and Christians.

We respectfully request that someone from the embassy come and speak to the Mayor. Perhaps if he realizes that an outside influence as powerful as the U.S. is aware of the situation, then he will take his position more seriously and represent all the people and not just a noisy minority.

There have been many articles written in the Negev newspapers about this situation and many os the secular Jews are against what the orthodox are doing. It is very difficult to live in a constant state of harrassment. At least nine of our group have dual Israel/U.S.A. citizenship and some others are Americans with residency permits.

This is a situation which can be neutralized very easily just by making an appearance. I don't think the Mayor (Dr. Moti Brill) wants to jeopardize all the extra funding the city receives from the United States. Please help us.

Thanking you in advance for your assistance, Lura Maiman and Edwin Beckford

50/2 Nahal St., Arad, Israel

Phone - 067 508 844

email - lura_eddie@hotmail.com

"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?" Jeremiah 32:27