A large protest took place on Wednesday night at Jerusalem’s Bar Ilan intersection where Admorim and the head of the Eidah Chareidis, Hagaon HaRav Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss, were joined by thousands of Charedim in protesting the construction of the Jerusalem light rail.
Approximately 100 policemen were at the scene of the protest, prepared to arrest any protesters who sought to escalate the demonstration into a violent incident. The protest remained peaceful until the rabbanim left, at which point fights between some charedim and police officers broke out and protesters began lighting fires.
Police said that they were then compelled to use force against the protesters, as they were “damaging infrastructure.”
Charedim have long been fighting against city plans to have a light rail line run along Bar Ilan, with rabbanim saying that it poses major halachic issues and will negatively affect the tens of thousands of charedim who live in the area.
VIDEO AND PHOTOS BY YISHAI YERUSHALMI
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
24 Responses
Tevye I think describes first trains arriving to shtetls. I wonder whether Jews protested the Czar’s rail?
Oh, the IL government has not cut enough the support for Yeshivot and Kollelim. The inflation rate is high enough. They still too much time to waste. The bus fare is still too low………
I think it important to mention why Chareidim are upset. Is it about, for example, immoral ads being placed in their neighborhoods? If so, surely a political solution is very possible. Yet, why do they feel they must protest so strongly? What then does this say about what is not being done right now?
The government should send a diplomatic envoy to the rabbinical leaders, and stop this needless strife.
Hatzlocha in your protests. Keep up your efforts.
I think the government should stop running all buses along Bar Ilan Street. Let the people who don’t want advanced public transport walk.
I respect the opinions of the gedolim. What is unacceptable from a sense of morality is the violence and disgusting behavior that erupted once these rabbonim left. I would hope those rabbonim openly express their revulsion regarding the violence. Notice how they maintained order and decency while they were present.
So sad. This is what’s it’s come to. Everone needs something to live for. Unfortunately, it seems that this is their only outlet.
It’s not shabbos, it’s not graves, it’s not giyus bonos, its a light rail!
These ungrateful vultures should be thanking the עיריה so profusely for constructing & putting up this wonderful light rail.
They are so efficient & pleasant to travel in, and shame on anyone who stoops so low so as to deny הכרת-הטוב such a basic tenet in Judaism
“saying that it poses major halachic issues”
Such as?
So, @147, just to clarify: The Hundreds of years old chareidi yishuv in eretz hakodesh are obligated to express hakoras hatov to the Zionist pigs because our darling @147, who hasn’t been to Eretz hakodesh on several years, and who frigging lives in Chutz La’aretz, has decided that his royal majesty desires a light rail on his rare trips to Eretz Yisroel and that therefore, I guess, the hundreds of years old Chareidi yishuv is obligated to express similar desire… hmmm, @147… fascinating insights… really…
You know, @147, if someone said he didn’t want a chocolate chip cookie, would you force feed it to them? Just curious… (and btw, I, who does use that street daily actually, am very excited to eventually use the light rail… although the construction is insanely annoying, u have no clue, adds exactly a half hour to my commute both ways… nuts… but I’m excited for the eventual light rail… although I feel guilty because it’s against the yishuv and rabbonim… but im just being honest lol… but either way…
It simply makes public thoroughfare open to all of life going through their more insular neighborhood. Commentors above, you may not feel the stress of having this in your backyard but these people are asking to do it elsewhere. Would you want all walks of life going down your block? If they turned your street into a public park or bike path or something like that, wouldn’t you feel resentful? Come on! Just feel their resentment and don’t wash their stress with your hate. Why get involved with your vile comments if it has nothing to do with you. YWN always reports stories that beget such vicious hate for other Jews. Not our way. Stay out of it. Say some Tehillim for Ukrainian Jews instead.
nice that they are together to protest, but in the 43 years that I live in Jerusalem, protests have NOT changed much, especially not the roads and light rail…..
This is Peleg, who don’t quite understand that this isn’t a country controlled by the Haredim….. My rebbie, a Brisker, told me that these types of protests (other than giyus habanos and kevarim) don’t work, and he the Brisker Rav wouldn’t join in them. “It’s their medina.”
And, if I may add, this will likely right through the neighborhood on Shabbos! Why shouldn’t they oppose it?
“what are the major halachic issues”
LI YID: For example, their bochurim might see well-dressed young men and women traveling to work and earning a parnassah for their families rather than having to beg for tzadakah or handouts from government “subsidies”. It also might facilitate the ability of chareidi families to travel around yerushalayim and access higher quality and lower cost goods and services. Its a matter of “control” and keeping people locked within a closed loop. The ole mushroom hashkafah is applicable here where the strategy provides for “keeping them in the dark and feeding them manure”.
“poses major halachic issues and will negatively affect the tens of thousands of charedim who live in the area”
could someone elaborate?
hey 147 zionists are amelakim no need to thank them
hey 147 zionists are amelakim no need to thank them at all
geshmake protest kiddush hashem
ddont even say the words hakoros hatoiv
FYI Yashar I just got back from having spent a fortnight in Israel taking the light rail extensively, so how dare you Yashar accuse me of not having been to Israel in several years, and how dare you call the Zionist as pigs.
There are MANY well reasoned reasons to be against the currently planned configuration of the light rail. The protests are demanding that it be tunneled in the area of BI, AS ORIGINALY PROPOSED BY THE TRANSPORTAION EXPERTS!!
The Minhal Kehilati (comunity board) has been in constant communication and negotiations with the planing team, and the planning team agrees that they don’t have a defense for building it above ground, just thats they way it’s going to be.
Can anyone imagine what it’s going to look like when BI is ONE LANE each way? No left turns from Shamgar to French Hill?
Sorry people, from a urban planning point of view, the Chareidim are right!
@147:
1) You’ve been complaining about not being let into the country for months now, so I didn’t realize you just came. I’m so happy for you! I hope you had a really nice trip!
2) Not sure why you didn’t answer any of my points. But due to the fact that you did not do so, I certainly don’t feel obligated to address the Zionist remark with which you took issue.
3) Hope you get to come back soon!
Look at that fighting spirit! They should all be immediately enlisted in the IDF and placed in combat units.