Jerusalem – Orthodox Jewish Demonstrators Clash with Police at Protest Over Shabbat [photos-video]

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    Officers were pelted with rocks Photo: Gil YohananJerusalem – Israeli police fired water cannons at thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem who threw stones in protest on Saturday against the opening of a public parking lot they see as a violation of religious law.

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    Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said six officers were injured by stones and some protesters were arrested in the scuffles that erupted at the Israeli city hall building.

    The violence flared when hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews wearing traditional all-black or all-white garb of their particular sects threw rocks and empty bottles at police to shouts of “Shabbat,” and tried to break into a parking lot beneath the city hall building officials had recently decided to open on the sabbath, a day most public buildings are closed.

    Protesters “surrounded the building and were trying to break in from several directions” when police stopped them, Rosenfeld said.Demonstrators responded by hurling rocks and feces-loaded diapers at the police, and hundreds more joined in confrontations that erupted in several other Jerusalem neighbourhoods, Rosenfeld said.

    Ten demonstrators and a young stone-thrower were arrested and six officers were injured by stones five of them were treated by paramedics on the scene but one officer was hurt in the head by a stone and was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem for treatment.

    The protestors carried out their leaders’ vow to fight against free parking, which they fear will lead to widespread desecration of the Sabbath. Mayor Nir Barkat has directed the city parking lots which is about 500 yards from Mea Shearim, to be available for free parking in order to encourage tourism.
    Mounted reinforcements called in Photo: Gil Yohanan
    City Hall lies very close to the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, a major tourist attraction.

    In the last few years all parking lots near the Old City would close on the weekends due to haredi pressure, but recently, after it has been decide to bar vehicles from entering the Old City itself on weekends, a parking solution for the visitors became a more pressing problem.

    Lacking designated parking spots, many drivers leave their cars on no parking roads around the Old City and the traffic problems this causes made the municipality decide to reopen the parking lots.

    The parking lot was supposed to be opened by Druse employees who would serve as Shabbes Goys already last week, but police asked the municipality to delay its opening because of the Holiday of Shavuot.

    The municipality decided that the parking lot will be opened on Saturday mornings and be free of charge until Shabbat goes out, approximately at 8 p.m. during the summer months.

    United Torah Judaism members on the city council did not protest the move, after the mayor assured them that the parking lot would not be operated by Jews and that no money would change hands on Saturdays.

    But Haredi communities not represented at the council denounced the decision, and on Friday Barkat visited the home of Jerusalem’s hareidi-religious community leader Rabbi Yitzhak Tuvia Weiss, in an attempt to cool tensions and prevent the protests.

    The sides were making progress until the meeting broke down, according to Haredi sources. Rabbi Weiss, threatened “to burn the city” and reportedly vowed to lead the protest personally. The rabbi’s threat broke up the meeting.
    Fliers posted in Mea She’arim on Friday read: “Prepare for a battle for Jerusalem.”

    The parking lot was open today only for a few hours, before being shut down by police ahead of the protests.

    The violence began towards the end of the Sabbath as the protestors reached Safra Square, where City Hall is located, and police tried to prevent them from continuing to area’s plaza. Protesters also rallied in Haredi neighborhoods around the city, torching dumpsters.

    Protestors charged that the police used unreasonable force against them, but law enforcement officials said that fire hoses were employed in order to disperse stone throwers, who injured several policemen.

    Meanwhile, a small secular counter-protest of several dozen students from the Meretz party and the Jerusalem Awakening movement staged a counter-demonstration nearby, they had placards that read “This is not Teheran,” and “The haredim have no shame.” They were met by shouts of “Shabbes” and “Those who defile her shall be put to death.”

    Barkat’s office denounced the violent demonstration. “The parking lot was opened in consultation with all sectors of the public, including the haredim, without the desecration of the Shabbat in order to solve the lack of parking in the city,” Barkat spokesman Evyatar Elad said late Saturday, in a statement.

    Speaking as the police were still dispersing small localized protests, Barkat said the dispute over the parking lot had brought conflicts over Shabbat back to the streets, and that the parking lot would be opened on Saturdays.
    “It will be opened every Saturday. We stand behind the decision,” Barkat’s spokesman said.

    In the meantime, Jerusalem police were planning to hold talks with haredi leaders in the city as well as the mayor to prevent further Shabbat protests.
    Jerusalem Police Chief Cmdr. Aharon Franco called the haredi demonstration, whose size and force caught police by surprise, “brutal and severe.”

    But a protest organizer said that they would “ignite the city” and “do everything we can to prevent the opening of the parking lot.”

    The Orthodox Jewish community makes up about one-third of Jerusalem’s 750,000 population.


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    122 Comments
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    heilig
    heilig
    14 years ago

    garantee they did not get their instructions from daas torah you protest peacefully and be heard what the gaass is waiting for is to call us extremists and other names that are not descriptions of frum yidden

    a reader
    a reader
    14 years ago

    sick!! last i checked it was ossur to cause someone to bleed on shabbos (as these protesters did by throwing rocks at the police).

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    wow !!
    so by making a protest way more chillul shabbos was done!!!!!!!!!
    this is not to belive!!!!

    hello!!
    hello!!
    14 years ago

    By the way number 1 and number 2!!! Reb eliyoshev said erev shobus that everyone should go to be MOICHEH on the chilul shobus….also the GOVED said that we r supposed to go….so who are you to say that it is wrong??

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Since when are you allowed to throw rocks on Shabbos?

    Isn’t chillul shabbos as opening a parking lot?

    Dovid
    Dovid
    14 years ago

    Is it allowed to throw stones on shabbos? i guess shmirat shabbos is just for others. they also caused chillul shabbos for the police. Real frum and real smart

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Mi kiamcha yisroel who defend shabbos at all costs

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Give them all hell those police deserve it!!!!!!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Aren’t rocks muktzah?!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    i hope the dont give in

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    All agree that a solution where going to the streets is prefered.
    All agree that if going to the streets is called for (best left for gedolei hador to decide) then violence is un wanted.
    When none of the above are feasible the choice remains sad and usualy looks like this one did.
    Most protest properly some don’t. The same can’t be said for the police ( remember gush katif. Forced evacuation) they are trained to be brutes and brutal they are. As one who has wittnessed them in action can attest t

    arye
    arye
    14 years ago

    everyone is mechuyiv tobe moicha on chillul shabos

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    “Protesters also rallied in Haredi neighborhoods around the city, torching dumpsters.”
    On Shabbos??!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    If all non-Hareidi emigrate from Yerushalayim tomorrow morning at 7 a.m., what will become of every man-woman-child left in EY? My grandfather left the Old City to come to America in early 1900s because his mother and cousin had starved to death.

    It took the incoming of the zionistim to make the desert bloom, to work as laborers to pave the mud into roads, to build the modern clean hospitals. My uncles and aunts moved back as shomer ha-dati religious zionists who keep shabos while serving in the IDF.

    Fathers who teach their Jewish sons to throw stones at Jewish police??? Can YOU disfigure the face of a policeman who has an honest job to keep safety in your neighborhood in America??? Can YOU throw a rock to hit a policeman’s head and cause him to go into a coma and die???

    Disgusting. I disown these people. NOT MY PEOPLE. Shanda, shanda, shanda.
    If they are YOUR PEOPLE, how will you repair the evil they are teaching their sons?

    shabbos iz heilig
    shabbos iz heilig
    14 years ago

    The stone trowing & torching was done after shabbos !

    shabbos iz heilig
    shabbos iz heilig
    14 years ago

    The stone trowing & torching was done after shabbos !

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    both sides r wrong .jews should not b fighting &hurting other jews and the parking lot should not b opened.the problem is u can’t make people or force people to b religious it only pushes them futher away from wanting to b religous. aswell it is a democratic country so it is a issue for them to say not open

    dirty Jew
    dirty Jew
    14 years ago

    It amazes me this is what the ARABS do-only ANIMALS do this-Jewish people DO NOT throw rocks, especially at other Jews. This is why Moshiach isnt here yet, this is why people can call Jews “dirty Jew” because these Jews are indeed dirty. Instead of screaming shabbos-why dont u start an educational campaign that makes people more prone to listening and act more sensitive.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    everyone should thank GER for actually putting in a mayor mechalel shabbos Barakat they didn’t go to the protest!

    brainwashing
    brainwashing
    14 years ago

    this is awful-these young children are being brain washed just like the arabs. last year I was walking in Jerusalem on shabbos and a car drove by and a 4 year old boy with the chasidish garb began to yell “Shabbos Shabbos” so i turned around to him and said, “yeled-tagid Good Shabbos-Shabbat Shalom” They know its Shabbos wish them a good one. The boy and his mother were mortified and ran away. WHAT IN THE HECK DO YOU TEACH YOUR CHILDREN?

    zanchanim
    zanchanim
    14 years ago

    Only rocks when I learnt in israel I used to throw benches and tables off th roof tops!!!!!!!!!

    Pinchos Hakanai
    Pinchos Hakanai
    14 years ago

    May all protesters be gebenched!!! This is real mesiras nefesh!!! They should get ahold of weapons and kill every single freaken police officer!!! If we don’t show these secular jewish nazis that we chareidim COULD FIGHT AND WOULD FIGHT, we will be pulled around by their dirty leash in future upcoming conflicts!!! We must speak the language they ALL understand!!! We see that the police shut down the parking lot due to the protests VIOLINCE WORKS!!!!!! May we all be zoicheh for moshiach and put all these FRAYEH NAZIS up for din umishpat!!! May hashem bench the gaved with long and healthy years!!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    HaShem wants to see His children behave this way? For this He gave Shabbos? To have Yidden attacking each other, throwing stones at each other?
    Those who believe this will bring Moshiach closer are making a tragic mistake. This only causes more hatred, more division, more Chillul HaShem.

    DM
    DM
    14 years ago

    They may be misguided, but at least they are passionate about things like Shabbos. Perhaps some of us need to introspect and rethink our passions…..

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Makes me sick, yerushalayim is becoming like arab states run by fanatics, end of the day, only 1 3rd of
    Y is frum, this is a legitimate way of solving a problem that has nothing to do with frum ppl, this is certainly not the will of Hashem, to burn dumpsters and throw rocks on shabbos, I don’t know what kind of rov says he will lead the fight and burn the city down, but as a frum educated, yeshishe somewhat guy, he certainly doesn’t represent me, I am fed up with all this tyranny, there is a middle way to resolve all charedi/chiloni issues and this is hardly one.
    Another point to ponder, providing police are doing their job, how dare anybody hurt another jew, they are doing what they have been assigned, about time these bunch of leitzim realize that they are noth the only ones who inhabit this world.

    Shmuel
    Shmuel
    14 years ago

    this is disgraceful and a profaning of God’s name in public..the jewish people need to unite …….both religious and non-religious.period.
    mutual respect needs to prevail and in this way the sanctity of shabbat will blossom..
    i understand the anger and frustration however i can not beleive they would throw feces filled diapers at the police….the arabs and obama see this and see our weakness…unity is critical…the charedim need to teach about shabbat by positive example not with viloence against other jews…

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    vin , why are you one sided? why dont you show pictures of these hoodlums throwing rocks and diapers on the pokice causing chillul shabbos just as well

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I would love to know how many of these policemen now understand the beauty of Shabbos and will now undertake to keep it properly, after being pummeled with rocks and dirty diapers… Wait, i already know, it’s ZERO.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    The police should get some more (not by stones on shabass)

    disgusted
    disgusted
    14 years ago

    these people are bored and have boring lives. when they see a chance to protest/make trouble, they do. this is their form of excitement.

    a normal person on shabbos spends time with his family and friends. he learns, enjoys the tish, and gets some menucha. these people, who want to preserve shabbos so much, pick up muktzeh rocks and throw them at other jews. yep, that makes a lot of sense.

    their behavior is just as bad as the parking lot opening on shabbos.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Thank you Ger again!!!

    Icecreamsoda!
    Icecreamsoda!
    14 years ago

    Wow! A report by Reuters, Jpost Army radio and Haaretz all rolled into one giant ball of Anti- Charedi trash! Who knew such Achdus existed by those who hate us! 4 News outlets, 1 goal, to vilify the “evil Haredi”.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    The Rabbonim did say to protest but they did not say to do what some people chose to do. Perhaps, next Shabbos booths should be set up serving Shabbos food and maybe that will have a more positive effect. We overhere look and see what does not look nice especially when innocent people end up getting hurt and punished for those who take this as an excuse to behave in an Untoradik way. We have children living in Yershalayim and not be able to leave their homes for if they did they will too be beaten or hit even if just innocently wanting to go to shul.

    nat
    nat
    14 years ago

    Send these idiots to work so they will actually use Shabbos to rest and won’t look for places to vent their frustrations for their miserable existence on the Israeli police officers
    When was the last time we here in Brooklyn went secular Jewish neighborhoods to throw stones on our secular Jewish brothers?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I suspect 99 percent of VIN readers, however opposed they are to the blatant machelel shabbos happening at the garage, would like to see these crazy demonstraters who created a big chilul shabbos and even bigger chilul hashem. I just saw film of this violence on the late news tonight. Instead of fighting the real terrorists, these chayas and deranged rabbonim are fight young jewish police and security officers doing their job. Hashem should strke down anyone who attacks another yidden with the hatred they have shown.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Ger did it again for the second time what A chilul Hashem!

    Karl
    Karl
    14 years ago

    I wonder if Ger was in attendance as well

    Boruch N. Hoffinger
    Boruch N. Hoffinger
    14 years ago

    BS”D
    #29
    “The stones were designated…”
    This is a big chillul HaShem. Throwing rocks at your brothers (And sisters.) is a horrible thing!
    Rambam said most Jews who are not observant are Teenoke SheNishba. If you can justify harming a Jew with a deadly weapon, why can’t they justify not wanting to observe the Shabbat? Both are negative and positive commands of G-d, right?
    You, and the rock-throwers, think they are better than the police. This is an illusion and trick of ‘the yetzer.’
    Continue to act in you foolish and blind way and see how much time you’ll wait for Moshiach.
    Nothing is greater than Shal-m. HaShem even erases HIS name for it.

    Dag
    Dag
    14 years ago

    Protestors…RASHA, Lama Saka Raecha?

    Stone throwers are Rodfim….

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    The Gerre rebbe should be held accountable for the actions of his chassidim. The reason that Barkat was elected in the first place was because of his antics and what happened today almost guarantees there will never again be a frumme mayor in Yerushalyim.

    Milhouse
    Milhouse
    14 years ago

    You can’t believe anything Haaretz OR the Israeli police say. “Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem who threw stones”? A nechtige tog. No such thing has ever happened, and I can guarantee 100% that it didn’t happen today either. If you tell me that twenty people threw stones on Shabbos I’ll believe it; but “thousands”?

    The police claim that six of them were injured? Going on past experience I’ll bet that most of those six tripped, or hurt themselves in some other way. And then one must ask when did the stone throwing start, before or after the police violence. Look at what happened at Amona. A peaceful protest turned violent when the police went in and started brutally beating people, and the boys on the roof started throwing rocks and concrete to defend the helpless victims. And yet that’s not how the police or Haaretz reported it. So why should we believe that’s not what happened here?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    These charadim r absolustly insane

    I agree with #6
    I agree with #6
    14 years ago

    Not just a Chillul shabbos but a Chillul Hashem for frum Jews to behave like behemas. Disgusting. Hope they are still in jail.

    izzy
    izzy
    14 years ago

    these fanatics must get a job.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    This video was obviously NOT taken by the Chareidim and all I see is abuse by the police OF the Chareidim and NOT any rock throwing. If it happened, it was an isolated incident!

    NeveAliza
    NeveAliza
    14 years ago

    Another dumb idea from the Edea. Forget the rocks (always kids) and the burning (always nut jobs) and violence (always someone dressed up like a Chasid). The very fact that extra Jewish police had to be brought on Shabbos caused Chilul Shabbos and the Edea knew this before Shabbos. The biggest proof that this “demonstration” was wrong is the fact that YWN didn’t cover the news item after Shabbos. I guess they were afraid of all the “I told you so” comments that were bound to come in.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Chilul Shabbos – NOT ALLOWED.
    Chilul Hashem – ALLOWED????????!!!!!!!!!!!

    There’s only one Aibishter and one Torah – you can’t pick and choose which mitzvos you keep – we have 613!
    They’re not keeping Shabbos? That’s between them and Hashem.

    Your despicable behavior will not encourage anyone to keep Shabbos!!!! Do you really care about those not keeping Shabbos? Demonstrate that Yidden, Shomrei Shabbos are holy, refined and respectable people and inspire a love of Shabbos and a love of Hashem. This repulsive behavior is pure selfishness – these people want to create a “holy bubble” for themselves to live in. They don’t care how “chilonim” feel about not keeping Shabbos, or about Hashem – as long as they keep their “aveiros” far away from these “holy” people!!!

    shimon
    shimon
    14 years ago

    All of you that dont know Its asur what they did on shabbos no questions asked but just to let you know most of these guys in magav unit are anti semites and self hating jews ecspecialy the yassam police most of them are russian goyim and all of them hate the jews these cops should of got beat down they always think their above the law what they did in gush katif and othe rplaces was hundred times worse they are reshoyim

    Elchonon Hellinger
    Elchonon Hellinger
    14 years ago

    I wouldent throw rocks and riot in this case (for other causes I have) but I did live 2 streets over from the parking garage for 3 years.

    The issue does not merely affect mea shearim.. it affects massua, mameila etc.. besides for the kedusha of shabbos and yerushalayim.

    Are they right or wrong ? i dont know… but its just 1 more step in proving that the state is far from judaism.

    I WAS THERE
    I WAS THERE
    14 years ago

    I was there and I LIT GARBAGE DUMPSTERS AFTER SHABBAS. IM PROUD OF IT. We cant stand around when they desecrate the shabbas if we do THEY WILL WALK US WITH A DIRTY LEASH. Look at the media reports you see that parking was closed untill now BEC OF CHAREIDI PRESSURE. We must use all power we have to fight it. YERUSHALAYIM EINOI HEFKER-JERUSALLEM ISN”T A FREE-FOR-ALL. We have Gained much from these protests. Look at all the streets that are closed on shabbas. Look at the gay parade etc. etc. Also I was there and as far as i was able to see rocks were not thrown on shabbas and dumpsters were definetly only lit AFTER SHABBAS.