Jerusalem seems to be the venue for growing conflict between chareidi and non-frum residents as the chareidi tzibur continues to grow by leaps and bounds. A chareidi was detained by police on Tuesday morning 10 Elul 5772 in Gilo, a southern neighborhood in the capital. The police intervention surrounds a dispute regarding an area kindergarten.

It appears that the kindergarten was scheduled to open on Monday, 9 Elul, providing a venue for the area’s chareidi and dati-leumi torani children.

Secular residents refused to permit the opening of the kindergarten, fearing this would be the first step in the area turning chareidi. The residents took their case to court seeking a restraining order but the court would not abide, giving the sides a week to settle their differences without court intervention.

Residents are claiming the apartment being used for a kindergarten is a zoning violation. On Sunday, the actions of the secular residents led to a most unpleasant situation, limited raising of hands and police involvement.

Ladaat.net reports that someone decided to weld the gate shut during the night. This created quite the scene on Tuesday morning when parents arrived with their little ones. Police arrived as tempers flared and one chareidi man was detained.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)