According to Asst.-Cmdr. Menashe Arbiv, commander of the Yiftah precinct that includes southern Tel Aviv and Jaffa, eight policemen were wounded - one of them burned by a firebomb thrown by the rioters. On Wednesday evening, a planned demonstration also turned violent when Arab protestors clashed with police, shutting down Yefet Street. During a quieter period in the middle of the week, only two police jeeps and half a dozen tense policemen could be seen by the closed post office, where a note in Hebrew and Arabic directed residentsto another branch, several kilometers away. At Paul's Coffee Shop and Andre's Ice Cream Parlor, two upscale local landmarks located at the epicenter of the disturbances, customers sipped cappuccino and licked hand-churned ice cream.
People come here to drink coffee.
The Arabs feel oppressed and discriminated against, and they are. This shop contributes to coexistence in Jaffa. I serve good coffee to Arabs and Jews, and together, we enjoy ourselves. That's coexistence, and that's my politics. Ahmed, owner of a small hardware store, walks by.