New York: Haredim equate Jerusalem police with Nazis
Anti-Zionist Jews gather outside Israeli Consulate in Manhattan to protest treatment of religious Jews opposed to opening of parking lot in capital on Shabbat. 'Government, Jerusalem municipal government committing acts of brutality against religious Jews on scale not seen in last 65 years,' Satmar rabbi says
Hundreds of anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrated Wednesday in front of the Israeli Consulate in Manhattan in reaction to the recent clashes between police and religious Jews in Jerusalem over a new parking lot opened by the government near the religious neighborhood of Meah Shearim.
Religious Jews object to the government's decision to keep the parking lot open on the Jewish Sabbath.
"The Israeli government and the Jerusalem municipal government are committing acts of brutality against religious Jews on a scale not seen in the last 65 years," said Rabbi Menashe Fulop, a prominent Rabbi of the Satmar Hasidic community.
"For the past three months, religious Jews have been regularly beaten mercilessly at demonstrations, called by the chief rabbis of Jerusalem, against the parking lot set up by the city government right next to the walls of the Old City. The government is inviting Sabbath-desecrators from the entire country to come to the Holy City, the palace of G-d, the place where the Divine Presence resides, to insult G-d, who warned in His Torah against the desecration of the Sabbath."
Rally outside consulate in New York (Photo: Ilan Klein)
This wave of violence reached its peak this past Friday night, August 28, when a police officer directed a driver stopped at a traffic light to proceed, although, the religious community claims, the officer was aware of the religious Jew lying under his car. The driver obeyed, injuring the man and dragging his body some distance along the road. The man is still hospitalized.
A similar incident occurred on Sunday, August 30, at a demonstration staged by religious Jews to protest an autopsy of the body of a Jewish man stabbed to death the previous night: a police car struck and seriously wounded one of the protestors.
"In which country in the world do religious Jews suffer as much persecution as in the state that calls itself Israel?" said Rabbi Fulop.
Yirmiyahu Cohen of the "Jews against Zionism" organization told Ynet that the demonstration was held as a show of support for the haredi community's struggle against the opening of the parking lot on Shabbat, adding that police used "excessive force and did some cruel things."
'Jews beaten mercilessly.' New York rally (Photo: Ilan Klein)
Cohen admitted that the affair served as an excuse for his group to protest against the State of Israel. "We are not against the Israeli people; we oppose the Israeli government and the fact that it is running the country instead of living in the Diaspora. According to the Torah, Jews must remain in the Diaspora until the coming of the messiah," he said.
Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen said this week that he had no plans to turn a blind eye to the situation. "Every public in the State of Israel has the right to protest," Cohen said, "But at the end of the day, there will be zero tolerance to 'Nazi' chants and spitting at policemen."
As for the dispute over the parking lot, the police chief said the matter must be solved between the Jerusalem Municipality and the protesting haredi community.
"In any case, we will always be there to handle the event. I believe the way the Israel Police are dealing with this is the most professional and correct way, with a lot of tolerance and patience. But the solution must be between the two sides," Cohen said.
