The difficult situation that exists today in Har HaZeisim is not a recent event. In actuality, it is the result of state agencies failing to adequately address increasing Arab violence directed at Jews visiting the area, most often the beis hachaim. Attacks against Jewish motorists and pedestrians walking in the area are all too commonplace today.
Recently a Knesset committee addressed the alarming situation and it cited police failures surrounding the department’s failure to protect Jews visiting the area.
While police committed to man the police station in the area round-the-clock towards protecting visitors and kevarim, a visit to the area on erev Shabbos 12 Kislev 5774 by Ladaat showed a different reality. The police station was locked down, closed. The visit was conducted at 11:00am yet no police personnel were anywhere to be found. This is not the first time police failures in Har HaZeisim have been documented and as attacks increase in frequency, nothing seems to change regarding the police response.
On that same erev Shabbos morning hundreds of mispallalim could be seen in the beis hachaim and immediate area, but police were nowhere to be found.
It would appear in the case of Har HaZeisim police accountability is non-existent.
Correction:
While the story was posted by Ladaat, the actual discovery of the closed police station was made by Avrohom Lubinsky, who serves as Chairman of the International Committee for the Preservation of Har HaZeisim. Photo credit is attributed to A. Lubinsky as well.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
Relying on z’chus avos or other sundry nissim is a sheiloh that should be addressed by poskim, should one insist on putting oneself in a dangerous situation. The only solution to a bad guy with a weapon is a good guy with a weapon.
This is lamentable, but being that HarhaZeisim is a danger zone & that Har Menuchos is effectively sold out, hence that we procured plots in Tzefas, this being the next most nostalgic cemetery in Israel and yet still in use.
Now is the time to change the reality since there is a LARGE % of Religious and Charedi representatives on Nir Barkat’s Yerushalayim city council.
Get the council to put Har Hazisim on its list of concerns.
#147 So your solution is THROW IN THE TOWEL and buy in Tzefas (Y not Bet Shemesh), & if and when Tzefas is a problem throw in the towel and buy in…………Bklyn.