2,000 protest Haredi religious coercion in Jerusalem
Protest follows demonstrations by ultra-Orthodox against Shabbat opening of parking lots, Intel plant.
By Reuters and Nir Hasson Tags: Israel newsAbout two thousand secular Israelis demonstrated in central Jerusalem on Saturday evening, to protest police weakness in the face of what they branded ultra-Orthodox religious coercion and violence.
Police said there was no violence as protestors marched through the western part of Jerusalem, waving blue and white Israeli flags and holding placards reading "Jerusalem will not fall," and "We are sick of [religious] coercion."
The demonstration came after months of Haredi protests against parking lots in the capital that are open on Shabbat, which occasionally spilled over into violence.
There have recently also been demonstrations against computer chip manufacturer Intel for running a plant in Jerusalem on the Sabbath; earlier on Saturday, dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jews protested outside facility.
MK Nitzan Horowitz, of the left-wing Meretz party, participated in the march, during which he denounced the frequent recourse to violence by the ultra-Orthodox.
"Once its education, another time it's Intel; once it's the Pride March - but these are just excuses to demonstrate force, violence and coercion," he said.
"There will be no Jerusalem without seculars, there will be no Jerusalem without a free Kiryat Yovel; and if Jerusalem will not be free, the State of Israel won't be free either."
Horowitz was referring to a largely secular Jerusalem neighborhood into which hundreds of ultra-Orthodox families have moved, leading the residents to fear a Haredi takeover.
The Forum of Organizations for a Free Jerusalem, an umbrella group for secular organizations, held the march under the slogan, "Taking Jerusalem back - and by walking."
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Ultra-Orthodox protestors in Jerusalem. |
| Photo by: (Omer Hecht) |
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To the Orthodox, you will win more disagreements if you set a good example. Yelling and shouting will not make non-observant Jews observant. And you Seculars, not everything Orthodox is a remnant of the 17th Century. Take a serious look at your religion. Now everybody, let us be one family.
I note that the protest was not secularism against religion. It was non-violence againstt violence. The civil question is not to which religion or sect a person belongs. It is whether or not a person, or sect, be permitted by the law to practice violence against another person. Israel will never be able to eliminate the Ultra-Orthodox, nor Muslim, nor Christian, nor atheist any more than Nazism was able to eliminate Judaism from Europe. It all begins with the law admitting that any person has the civil right to express his/her opinion; but no person has any right at all to practice violence against his fellow man. In this respect, the courts must not show favoritism to any class of people, religious or otherwise. The civil rights movement is underway in Israel. It will prove to be a blessing. Shalom
It's just a dumb protest. Why is this news? People should just ignore it and let it be.
...I would offer up a well-accepted rule of physics: "Every action has its reaction."--(and then leave it to those far wiser than I am to engage in the "which came first, the chicken or the egg" debate.
ah, Yiddish... one of the most truly beautiful and expressive dialects of GERMAN! :-)
Secular Israelis can decide to have many more children. Es is a Naches un a groise Mechaye!
Finally, it seems that many Israelis are waking up to the dangers of the Haredi political machine. This is not about religion folks - don't ever forget that. This is a political grab for power and control over other citizens civil rights - namely to practice their religion as they choose.
You can secularize the Arabs, and maybe the Haredi. The Palestinian Christians are already secular, now your job is to secularize the Muslim community. Israel should also stop spoiling the Haredi community. It is this spoiling that made the Haredi grow bigger. When people care less about religion, they will see things differently, they will become more acceptable of others and probably more peaceful. The USA has all kinds of races and all kinds of religions, why do you think they can live with each others?? Secularism is the answer. If the majority becomes secular, (with the help of Israeli government), then everyone should be able to live peacefully in a democracy. The Arabs will not be a problem anymore. I don't see the Arabs as a problem, but religion is. If we eliminate the religion factor, then there would be no problem.
As a proud secular, Kiryat Yuvel resident, I am strongly against this demonstration. We must ask our selfs what we have to gain from demonstrating; will we prove our point to the Haredi community? Will we make a differene? or are we only being provocative and increasing the tension between the seculars and the unlta-othodox?
the city is for all jewish poeple and not ONLY for the haredim.not much work they do sitting in the shool all day long.we need people who will get our country betterand not become like Iran and other countries.
Commandment #11: Thou shalt have no parking lots open on the Sabbath.--by order of God.
Du kens tzu bornin merre kinder!! That is my lame attempt at self taught Yiddish, BUT it, i think u get mu point.
zealot religious coercion is undemocratic Shame to let the extreme minority FORCE their "interpretations" on other's "interpretations"...whose world is it anyway? To the extremists: stay in your protected (by your fellow non extreme Jews) and pray for enlightenment...and common sense that NOT all the rest of the world believes in what you believe. And that life goes on, with or without you.
The Masorti Movement was pleased to have over 350 of our own participate in what was not an anti-Haredi rally, but a pro-freedom of religion for all march. A large number of the participant were not secular and the president of the Rabbinical Assembly, and Nofrat Frankel-the Masorti woemn arrested at the Kotel for wearing a Talit during Woman of the Wall prayers, spoke.
No, I'm not haredi - but I speak their lingo - Yiddish. And I'd better learn Arabic too, and fast. Why? Let's face it people, 50% of all first-grade schoolchildren in Israel are either haredi or Arab. So take your pick: Do you prefer being taken over by the haredim or by the Arabs? Not a pleasant choice, right? But one of the two - or both - will eventually happen. So what can we seculars do about it? Well, nothing democratic.