Jerusalem: Haredi riots continue

Tensions still high in capital: Injuries reported after haredi rioters hurl stones at vehicles travelling on Jerusalem’s Bar Ilan Street; earlier, ultra-Orthodox protestors stone cars, damage traffic lights in city

Efrat Weiss

At least four people were lightly injured by stone-throwing ultra-Orthodox rioters targeting vehicles traveling on Jerusalem’s Bar-Ilan Street. Two of the wounded reportedly suffered head wounds.

Police forces and Magen David Adom medical teams were rushed to the scene, but the rioters were able to escape before police arrived.

Meanwhile, about 50 seculars initiated a protest watch titled ‘Violence-Free Jerusalem’ at Paris Square in the capital. The demonstrators are protesting the haredi violence in Jerusalem over the past few weeks.

Knesset Member Nitzan Horowitz, who organized the protest, said: « Seeing as no minister, Rabbi or political party has said anything, we are here to say that the madness in Jerusalem must stop. Everyone is afraid because of the politics, violence and threats. »

Horowitz said that the secular protest will continue every weekend should haredi riots go on.

« This recklessness and rioting, as we see threats against doctors, ‘SS’ chants, and attacks on municipal workers who serve these neighborhoods, must not be met with silence, » he said. « I view this as a test to the rule of law; a test to the character of an enlightened state. »

Violence in the capital renewed Friday night, despite the release to house arrest of an ultra-Orthodox mother said to have starved her son. In one incident, haredim hurled stones at passing vehicles on Bar-Ilan Street. One ultra-Orthodox man sustained head wounds after being hurt by a stone; he received medical treatment at the site of the incident.

In addition, rioters continued to cause damage to property by breaking traffic lights in the area.

After the mother was put on house arrest, tensions in that aspect subsided, and the rioters’ attention was once again focused on the opening of the Karta parking lot in the city on Shabbat.

Saturday morning, 10 ultra-Orthodox arrived at the parking lot to protest, and one protester lay down on the ground at the entrance and was evacuated by police. The other protesters were also ordered to clear out. No one was injured in the incident

Police prepare for more riots

Police have been preparing for riots against the opening of the parking lot that were expected to renew Saturday afternoon.

The security forces, including police, Border Guard officers, mounted forces and water cannons to scatter protesters, were deployed in an effort to prevent the haredim from leaving their neighborhoods.

Damage caused from recent riots is still noticeable in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Meah Shearim, where broken traffic lights and torched trash cans have can be found. Police plan to keep an extra close watch on these areas.

The decision to release the mother suspected of child abuse on house arrest was made on Friday, despite the prosecution’s plans to indict her.

Judge Shulamit Dotan released the woman into the custody of haredi lobbyist Avraham Froelich.

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman and Froelich posted the suspect’s bail in the amount of NIS 400,000 ($102,700).

The suspect will undergo a psychiatric examination and will have another hearing next Thursday.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews riot in Jerusalem over arrest

By MATTI FRIEDMAN (AP) –

17 juillet 2009

JERUSALEM — Ultra-Orthodox Jews throwing rocks and firecrackers clashed with police using horses and water cannon in Jerusalem on Thursday, in the third day of rioting over the arrest of a mentally ill Hasidic woman who authorities say was starving her child.

Late in the day, the unrest spread to a city outside Jerusalem with a large ultra-Orthodox population, where dozens of protesters tried to block a road.

The clashes in Jerusalem involved hundreds of rioters and spread to several ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of the city. They are the latest sign of increasing tensions between authorities, who allege the woman starved her 3-year-old son over several years, and the insular ultra-Orthodox community, which often resents outside interference in its affairs.

Hospital spokeswoman Yael Bossem-Levy confirmed that the woman is suffering from a condition known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which a person deliberately makes another sick. Her child is hospitalized.

Tensions between authorities and ultra-Orthodox Jews, who make up a third of Jerusalem’s residents, have been high since voters replaced an ultra-Orthodox mayor with a secular candidate in a November election.

In recent weeks, ultra-Orthodox Jews and authorities have clashed repeatedly over a decision by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to open a municipal parking lot on the Sabbath. Ultra-Orthodox Jews oppose the idea because driving is forbidden on the Sabbath.

In the wake of this week’s disturbances, City Hall has cut off municipal services to some ultra-Orthodox areas, saying it can’t guarantee the safety of its workers.

In the first wave of protests Thursday, rioters lobbed rocks and explosives, set dozens of trash bins ablaze and strewed garbage across city streets. Police used horses and a water cannon to contain the unrest.

On Thursday night, several dozen ultra-Orthodox tried to block a major thoroughfare but were dragged away by police, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said. Elsewhere in the city, protesters lobbed cherry bombs and rocks at officers, he said in a pager statement.

Fifteen people were arrested, 20 were detained for questioning and 10 police officers were slightly wounded, he said.

In Beit Shemesh, about 20 miles outside Jerusalem, about 100 protesters tried to block a road but police were evacuating them, he added.

On Thursday, protesters demonstrated outside the hospital where the 3-year-old is being treated. The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot published a photograph of the emaciated child and reported that his weight was 15 pounds (7 kilograms).

His mother, who has not been identified, was in police custody. Authorities say they have video footage showing her disconnecting him repeatedly from a feeding tube at the hospital.

The woman claims the child is sick and that she is not responsible for his condition, a position accepted by many of those protesting her arrest.

Emeutes des ultrareligieux à Jérusalem

Courrier international

17.07.2009

~ par Alain Bertho sur 19 juillet 2009.

Publié dans émeutes, riots