Menachim Ariav (born June 18, 1929 in Romania) was Mayor of Nazerat Illit, the Jewish city founded in 1957, next to the Arab Nazareth.
Ariav belongs to the Kadima party. Since 1977, he has been re-elected six times, the city has grown from 28,000 to 55,000 in this period. By 2020 it is said to have more than 100,000 inhabitants, Ariav strongly supports the immigration of Jews to Israel. This leads to conflicts with the surrounding municipalities, which are mostly inhabited by Israeli Arabs, as the city is growing at their own expense.
In 1980, Ariav was the driving force behind the city partnership with Leverkusen. In 1999, he was appointed honorary citizen of Leverkusen, he is the only living bearer of this award.
In 2003, he was one of the initiators of the founding of the Union of Romanian-born Jews (AMIR) to serve as the umbrella organization for all Romanian-Jewish organizations and individuals.
In June 2005, he boycotted a conference on the further development of Galilee because Arab representatives had not been invited. Single-level Edit source text
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