But after hearing all these things in the last couple of months about Haredi behaviour in this neighbourhood, one cannot but wonder where the authorities are in all this, to lay down the law for people who don't seem to care for the legal norms of the state, and even continuously act with contempt and aggression towards anyone and anything that deviates from their narrow-minded ways.

Authors use books to convey thoughts and ideas. Very rarely are books deemed unacceptable, example includes sexual assault of a child. To attack a book store for not following a censorship leads one to wonder... what would our society be if the great books of science were banned completely... would our world be flat?

Good going, Jerusalem district police - the thugs won. The zealot minority can dictate its will on the rest of the religious public in Jerusalem. These are violent and dangerous individuals, why aren't they behind bars? Why does a religious bookstore have to be terrorized for *months*, publicly, without there being arrests? It's like a mafia racket. Only instead of money, religion is the coin - a very particular brand of zealous religion. And if the police think they can keep their collective heads in the sand and avoid tackling the issue yet again, it will simply grow, until it isn't just an "internal matter" of people living in Me'a She'arim. And for those who don't know - Or Ha'Chaim is a Hareidi-owned store that reopened last year with a larger multi-storied store, with a very large selection of books for the ultra-Orthodox and religious public, as well as Judaica. It has widespread approval and support among Haredim - including Me'a She'arim's own Eda Haredit Rabbis. Here we saw a violent fringe group that enjoys little to no support gain the upper hand against this store simply because the authorities didn't do enough to stop them.

So tell me...what is the difference between the ultra Orthodox and the fundamentalist Muslims? None as far as I can see!

Out of the 3 monotheistic religions, Judaism has stood alone as the one that doesn't try to force it's beliefs on others.

Words,that can transport you to another world, curl up on the sofa or in bed, it doesn't matter, discussions on this or that book around a coffee table with good friends, and oh, don't forget a good wine and warm fire place, hummm, wonderful ,thank G-d I am not a haredi zealot. This is my opinion.

The Haredim and the leftists are ruining Israel. Either the ultra-religious have too much say (and too much power) about how people should conduct heir lives, or the leftists are being given too much leeway regarding the things that they want (and want to do) that will bring down the country completely. While these 2 factions are in complete opposition to one other, they are two sides of the same coin. Those of us "in the middle", but who are nationalistic and reasonable, have no voice. The government is trying hard to please one or the other and the rest of us sit in the middle on the floor between two chairs.

adults shame on you. With your appeasement you sealed the future of more violence and the desecration of law and the future of your children.

time in Germany. Are Hitlers brown shirts are now todays mea sharim heridim. Or are they the mobs of arab spring. They should be ashamed to vandalise others property. This is where they loose respect and go in the same catagory as Irans humeni reguime. Fanatical religion...always a problem!

Sounds absolutely ridiculous to me, in fact it sounds like the narrow mindedness of Islamic fundamentalists, and for that matter sounds like the nazi's book burning on Kristallnact and there after! I'm sorry but that is just not right and offends on so many levels.

Because in case you missed the article, the victims here are also Haredim - ultra-Orthodox Jews. In this case, ones that didn't want to conform to the strongarm authority of a small group of fanatics. The police abandoned them. So now you can say that the Haredim are giving in to religious zealots, right?

The store is in Mea Shearim and you can't expect to set up a store in Mea Shearim and expect to be able to operate as you would if your in a shopping mall. Its like setting up a store selling Jewish books in Saudi Arabia. The vandalism was unacceptable but I really couldn't stay him staying in business long anyway if there was a boycott. On the plus side if the haredi are satisfied with what he is selling they will probably come and shop there so he will make money from them and its better to make money selling only censored books rather than getting your windows smashed and nobody buying anything from you anyway.

Its Haredim then left, the residents rejoiced.

This is a revolting situation that this is what is reported and the chareidi world should be ashamed that they have allowed this. The leaders of the Jewish people - all of them - need to start looking at to what is causing this type of chillul Hashem. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants uis to do this bederech noam. These people are not being stopped and throgh increasing polarised behaviour and discussion, in fact are being encouraged. Where are the true Giborim who should be leading klal yisroel.. we should be taking up arms gaianst these revolting people and destorying their ability to mechalel shem shamayim like that.

Why weren't the police involved here? Why wasn't more done to protect the freedom of choice? Giving in to these vile people is just one step closer to giving them what they want. Vile disgusting people.

I really do understand your point. However, this attack was not carried out by any meanstream Haredi group, but rather by a group that is being considered extreme even by Haredi standards. If in a Haredi neighbourhood, the extremists even by Haredi standards are capable of dictating the law, where does it end? Furthermore, the mea shearim neighbourhood is part of Israel and as such subjected to Israeli civil law. Israel has the right and the obligation to dictate that same law. It's all part of the social contract, common in every western country: the monopoly of violence is conferred to the state, and in turn, the citizens of same state are both expected to comply with this law and are entitled to rely upon the fact that the government will exert violence on their behalve to safeguard their basic rights. I don't feel that the latter is the case here, and I really contest the applicability of the analogy: 'when in rome, do as the romans do', because of the simple fact that these 'daggermen' do not represent civil authority.

baseball bat... Here's a job opportunity: teaching baseball to store owners all over...

You miss the point, the owners are haredim. The immodesty that is being reported here shall be something like a book from a certain ruv, who ruled slightly differently from the zealot's ruv in a very essential question like is it permittable to walk around in mea shearim without a shtreimel in shabbat or shtreimel should be a must. Don't expect immodesty in terms of a secular bookstore. No nudity, no sex, no mundane stories. This kind of censorship was never an attribute of Judaism. If it was, the wonderful reshponza-literature would not be created at all since there could not be any debate between our great ones. The Talmud wouldn't be existent if one tiny fraction could dictate on everybody else. Just think of the fierce debates of the talmud, think about Hillel's debates. The zealots with this act proved that they are not Jewish anymore by the means of rabbinic judaism.

Get a high definition webcam, and pepper spray as well as the dye used in money packets (bank robberies). Rig up your own "response". Plan B? Move out of "Islamabad" and deal with normal people.

On the one hand you would think that the bookstore owners would have had the savvy!! to have for seen a problem in this neighbourhood,there are signs everywhere.On the other hand for the use of vandalism/violence/intimidation to have taken place,are the Haredi affiliated to a crime syndicate. KJL.

It's been tried and tested that if a victim ever fights back against a criminal via illegal measures, the police *will* arrest him, knowing that he won't actually fight *them*.

Those Haredi illiterates will also ban the Guide to the perplext by the Rambam,the works of Yehuda Halevy,Rav Kook,the taliban will feel at home in meah shearim,who feeds those people ?.incendiary materials cost money.

like to hire some local Xtians to do a flash mob scene and spray everyone on the entire street with "holy water" and see how they like it.

This is the sort of things people who hate Jews would say to falsely and horribly accuse Jews.. When making you look bad no longer requires your enemies to lie, something has gone very wrong.

I live near Meah Shearim and often visit this place. The residents are nice, modest and frienly people. But they have their own principles and try to defend them - in their neighborhood, on their territory. They try to keep their children away from porno and other vices of the corrupted secular society. Breaking the windows of a bookstore - Kristallnacht? Oh really! In other places much more terrible things happen but they are never reported.