J'lem police restrict mobility in Arab neighborhoods on Yom Kippur
Police: roadblocks were intended to prevent cars driving through Jewish neighborhoods, avoid stone throwing.
By Haaretz StaffThe Jerusalem police on Sunday set up roadblocks in several Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem to prevent vehicular traffic on Yom Kippur.
Police said the roadblocks were intended to prevent cars driving through Jewish neighborhoods, to avoid triggering violent confrontations or stone throwing.
Residents of the Arab neighborhoods said yesterday that the roadblocks hampered mobility from one Arab neighborhood to another and forced them to take lengthy detours.
Police have taken this measure of closing roads in the capital for several years, and published announcements and maps in advance in the Arab press.
City council member Saar Netanel on Monday said that the police action scandalously restricted the mobility of the Arab public.
"The damage done to the residents of East Jerusalem is great," Netanel said. "During Yom Kippur they had difficulty getting to work, to mosques and returning home."
"There is no rational reason to compel East Jerusalem residents to mark Yom Kippur," He added. "In order to preserve the sanctity of the day, there is no need and reason to stop traffic in East Jerusalem."
Netanel further said that "To prevent the entry of Arabs' vehicles into Jewish neighborhoods, the police could have set up the barriers at the entrance to the Jewish neighborhoods, or made do with closing Highway 1, on the line between the Arab and Jewish neighborhoods in the area."
|
Children riding a skateboard in a car-free street in Jerusalem shortly before the end of Yom Kippur on Monday. (AP) |
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
what a stupid comparision !!!!!!!!!!!!! what has huseini to do whit this ??? but if you insist: i guess the arabs wouldn't mind to stop their traffic and/or take a day of for the funeral of sharon, olmert or bush. (in last case half of the world would stop the traffic, i tell you)
You seem to forget that East Jerusalem is not part of Israel, except in the minds of extremists, and by Israeli legal fiction. According to international law and the rest of the world it is occupied territory.
It is almost a mantra now in the UK that public safety takes precedence over civil rights. If you don't know what Yom Kippur is and what it signifies to us, what the history of Yom Kippur is in the conflict and how Israel behaves during Yom Kippur then you have nothing to add to the debate. Please don't display your ignorance so publicly.
I just dont get it, how is this possible. In the USA the jewish lobby has attacked christians, Christmas, Christmas trees, crosses and so forth, and NOW christians have to say happy holiday instead of Merry Christmas, WHY??? all to please a certain people. No more prayer in schools, no more crosses on Christmas it is all being replaced by stars and menrahs WHY??? So you see even here in the USA we are restricted also on OUR most holy holiday...what happened to religious freedom for ALL???
ah, Mr. Clicky,Israel has re-invent idea of "Judaism". Israels celebrate Yom Kippur by throwing stones at ambulance in ritual that is as ancient as ancient. their Holy Men collect money by raiding banks in Gaza to prepare for ritual, and they go to neighbouring land to see if is ambulance which need to be revered by the Holy Ones. then go through process of renewal so if total failure in existing place and late with rent, go and "renew" with caravan on neighbour's land. and G_d ? Zionists not have one of those.
for a nation that is based on terror and whose leaders are cardinal terrorists to accuse their victims of "terror" amounts to a fornicaton with language. You people have no shame.
It also shows that non-Jews can have no equality and no justice and even no respect under Jewish rule. Hence, Palestinians must either have an autonmous status or even a state of their own even in Israel itself/ or accorded equal rights as citizens in a civil state where everybody is treated equally irrespective of his religion.
Arbitrary restriction of movement of a people is, of course, racist in the extreme.
And of course Jews are not allowed to pray on their own Temple Mount for fear of violating Arab/Moslem "religious sensitivities". And in 1995 when Peres and Beilin attempted to invite the arch-terrorist murderer Arafat to Jerusalem, the police and the "justice" ministry had a plan prepared to place Jewish Jerusalem under martial law. Finally by and large the Arabs of East Jerusalem are NOT citizens by their own choice. I know that Leftists are prone to amnesia, but recall in 1967 the Arabs were on the same side that wanted to throw the Jews into the sea. In a normal country the rights of citizens supercede those of non-citizens.
We always talk about Islamic extremists in the west, how about the Jews who throw stones at ambulences on Yom Kipur? Isn't that barbaric???