A mayoral candidate for a neo-Nazi party in Germany says he will ban Arabic numerals if elected, in response to a question, apparently unaware the question is a prank.
During an event in the southwestern German town of Volklingen, Olfried Best — the mayoral candidate for the far-right National Democratic Party — is jokingly asked by an audience member from the satirical Die Partei what he would do about the Arabic numerals on people’s addresses.
“I find it alarming that in Völklingen, many house numbers are displayed in Arabic numerals. How would you like to take action against this creeping foreigner infiltration?” Uwe Faust from the satirical party asks, according to The Independent.
In response, Best says, “You just wait until I am mayor. I will change that. Then there will be normal numbers,” apparently unaware that Arabic numerals are the “normal numbers” he was referring to.
As the crowd of some 600 people erupts in laughter, Best continues: “Wait a moment, Mr. Faust, until I’m Lord Mayor, and I’ll change that.”
— Agencies contributed to this report
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Monday, September 4, 2017
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
