Jerusalem – Some 30,000 men from all ultra-Orthodox factions gathered Friday evening on Jerusalem’s Bar Ilan Road for a mass prayer in protest of the decision to open a parking lot near the Old City on Shabbat.
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Some 150 haredi men gathered near the disputed Karta parking lot and held a quiet prayer in the area.
Most of the protestors gathered between the Ohaley Yosef and Avinadav Junctions, which are some 100 meters (328 feet) apart, chanting “Shabes”. A sign reading “Keep and remember the holy Shabbat” was placed near the protestors.
At a certain stage, protestors began running towards the television photographers and reporters, crying out, “The desecrater will be put to death.”
As the journalists escaped, the crowd spat and them and knocked on the windows of their vehicles. Police forces removed the protestors from the area.
The rally was held in protest of “the war declared by Jerusalem’s mayor on the holy Shabbat.”
The Jerusalem Police reinforced their forces in the capital for fear that the rally would turn violent.
“We estimate that there will be no violent riots,” the official said, “but we are preparing for such a possibility. As long as the protest is legitimate and organized we will allow them to hold it, but the moment the riots turn violent we will show zero tolerance.”
Pashkavil (wall posters) calling on the haredi public to take part in the Bar Ilan Road protest were hung in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods. “In light of the heinous scheme of the people of Sodom to contaminate the Holy City, we will convene for a prayer and crying out rally in the presence of an enormous crowd,” the posters said.
Hundreds of leaflets were distributed on the streets, pointing a finger at the Gur Hasidim for supporting Mayor Nir Barkat in the municipal elections.
Photographers warned not to take pictures
Shloimi, a haredi youth, told Ynet, “If we had a haredi mayor, Uri Lupolianski or Meir Porush, this would never had happened.”
He said he had come from the Bait Vagan neighborhood in order to take part in the rally. “It took me nearly an hour to walk here, but it’s important,” he clarified.
Meir, another yeshiva student, told Ynet that he believed the demonstration would not turn violent, but warned that the photographers sent to the area were creating provocations and should be careful.
“We (the haredim) have not had a demonstration for a long time and have not been given the opportunity to express our feelings. If one photographer takes our picture, people won’t think twice,” he warned.
The prayer was held by the ultra-Orthodox community and the Committee for the Sanctity of Shabbat and received the verbal backing of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, leader of the haredi-Sephardic community, and by Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elyashiv, leader of the Lithuanian public.
Another protest is planned for Saturday evening, near the disputed Safra and parking lots. The secular public is also expected to demonstrate in the area at the same time. The police have approved the participation of 1,000 people in the rally.
No matter who the mayor is Porosh or who else would do the same its an anti Torahdiga Place Against Hashems and his Torah
I hope all those who blamned the religous when the protests turned violent will now commend them when the protest is peaceful.
this story comes from ynet which means it was written on shabbos there isn’t a bigger chillul shabbos than 2 write a article on shabbos about kovod shobbos!
How can you report about a demonstrartion that is taking place on Shabbos when it is now Shabbos in Israel? By quoting YNET you are quoting a michalel Shabbos! Please be so kind as to remove this report. It is a chillul Hashem that you are assiting chillul Shabbos!
I hope this doesn’t turn violent. as much as the signs read KEEP AND GUARD SHABBOS so too one must guard ones identity and the jewish identity refrains from acting violent. I have no soft heart for the super to be smart ones. in the zechus of a peaceful rally may Hashem protect us and bring the geula.
VIN from where did you get these sources? you can’t get it from Israeli sites as they are writing this news during Shabbos!. I allways try not to lookup Israeli news sites after shabbos starts in Israel.
Why are you insisting on quoting mechalelei Shabbos? The only way you could get this news is by accessing news that was transmitted on Shabbos.
By having thes massive protests on Shabbos, the protesters are causing hundreds of Jewish police as well as news reporters to be mechallel shabbos. Many of them would not be on duty and others would be doing less!
This especially true if when they get violent. If they were always peaceful, they could have the protests and much fewer police would be used and there would be much less chillul shabbos.
The demonstrations in J’lem ended peacefully without any outstanding violence.
The demonstrations are a great way to make the non-frum despise Torah.
Updated at 4:44 pm. This is updated with news from Shabbos in Israel. How can you do this? How can you publish pictures taken on Shabbos by Gil Yohanan a Jew?!?
The irony is that by protesting they’re causing more chillul shabbos because of the greater police force and photographers/reporters on the scene.
Hadn’t it occured to anyone yet that by protesting they are directly causing the Yiddishe police people and the journalists to be Mechalel Shabbos? Since this protest causes Chilul Shabbos DIRECTLY b/c of them, these people should think long & hard before setting up the protest. After all, the parking lot being open isn’t caused directly by them. If they feel that protesting is the correct thing to do, shouln’t they protest during the week instead of Shabbos?
the protest started way before shabbos. it’s very possible that all sources were quoted before shkia.
I’m not sure this article in ynet was posted shabbas. maybe it started before the zman of shabbas
thans to litzman and ger
At a certain stage, protestors began running towards the television photographers and reporters, crying out, “The desecrater will be put to death.”
Wow and they are worrying about chilul shabbos? This is why their rabbonim should be smarter and not make such a big deal about this parking lot. Teach these people to be menchin
What does this story have to do with michael Jackson?
i was there and it was a kiddush shem shamayim. It’s amazing that a couple of the post sound like they are written by anti frum. You know, in my religion we have Rabbi’s that tell us what to do- we listen to them. If your rabbi tells you something else, then you listen to him. Don’t attack the other.
The protest was huge! It was the entire kvish of bar ilan until shmuel hanavi. The reporters were after the intersection of bar ilan and shmuel hanavi and the women. There were some protestors hanging around there to make sure nobody came into the davening area and they did scream at the camera men, but only once shabbos started. Camera men were around before shabbos and most likely the above picture was taken at that time. I don’t see how any photographer could have gotten this close once davening started. There was singing and dancing for a few hours. Sefardim, chasidim, yeshivah guys and even a man dressed in white top to bottom with a big white beard were davening all together. There was no violence other than a few kids messing with rocks that fell on some people. Hatzolah was there but it didn’t seem like anything major. The “event” ended and everyone went home. A perfect protest!police had no issues and the area was sectioned off correctly.
Today, was a whole notha story my brothas’
Today kids were on patrol all afternoon stopping any car with baracades and garbage dumpsters. Drivers came out of their cars and chased kids away only to get back in their car and be blocked again. One older gentelman wouldnt let the car move the gates until police showed up.
Fyi, these cars have other ways of getting to their destinations and do not need to drive through these chareidi neighborhoods. They do it with intention of ignighting fighting and look forward to the violence. One car even honked for about 5 min trying to attract kids but the kids were too busy learning to come out.
It takes 2 to fight but the mechalilei shabbos are the ignighters of the violence and they love every moment of it.
Om shabbat at 5pm there was another hafgana on mea sharim! This was the biggest chilul hashem. Throwing watermelons eggplant rocks … 25 ppl arrested in front of my face. Is this the way jews r soposed to behave? I reakky hope the chelonim make a rally about this! I was tramitized!
I watched the prayer rally at Bar Illan Friday Night. I live not too far and went there to observe.
The rally was peaceful, in spite of a handful few bored Hareidi youths seeking action. Those attention whores did attack a few reporters who stepped too close to the rally, but reporters in Chareidi areas on Shabbat should know better than flaunting their cameras and recording devices at the faces of Shabbat keepers.
The rally itself numbered at least 40,000 people, though (not all at once; they were organised in small groups, each group holding its own prayers, according to its own melodies, customs etc., and when i was there, many were already leaving, having finished their prayers, while others were just arriving).
Of those estimated 40,000, maybe only 20 engaged in so-called violence, and even they were relatively tame, compared e.g. with the Na`alin and Bile`in protesters.