It all happened on Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, when the greeting is “Shabbat shalom” (Sabbath peace). Jewish worshipers from all over the city make their way to the Western wall to pray and welcome in the Sabbath. We love to watch them from our condo high above the Old City as they go back and forth, dressed in their antique finery.
The haredim, who are the ultra-orthodox branch of Judaism, are some of the most elegantly dressed. The ladies wear long black skirts, with jackets of black, gray, or white, or dresses of soft muted colors. Who could guess that there could be such a variety of styles and ways to wear black and white? Their heads are crowned with scarves wrapped in ingenuous ways or lovely hats.
The husbands are dressed even more elegantly in their knee-length black or gold or white brocade coats and tall fur hats. Their children are usually dressed to match: the boys in black trousers and vests, white shirts, and small round black kipas on their heads; the little girls in matching dresses of black and white, often heavily embroidered. Usually, there is a baby in a stroller. With prayer books in their hands and the husband wearing his prayer shawl or carrying it in a special sack, they make a beautiful picture of piety, peace, and holiness. As I said, we love watching them and this past Shabbat was no different.
WHAT I HEARD: It was early afternoon and, from the direction of Safra Square, we heard the roar of a crowd. To Neal, it sounded like a demonstration. But to my ears, it sounded like a soccer game in progress. We had heard the same kind of sound in Rome when a giant-screen TV was set up in a piazza and the Italians gathered to cheer on their national team. The rise and fall of the noise sounded just like that. And, so in an effort to explain the unexplainable, I declared it a soccer game: either being broadcast at Safra Square or being played there in the big concrete piazza surrounded by the municipal buildings.
On Shabbat, in downtown Jerusalem, the streets are deserted except for a few tourists looking for a place to eat. All the shops are closed. All is quiet. The roar went on for hours. I wondered why someone would desecrate the Sabbath like that and why they were allowed to.
WHAT I SAW: I had gone out on the balcony several times to listen to the cacophony, but now there were things happening in the street behind our Condo. The haredim men and boys were congregating in little groups, looking up the street toward Safra Square, gesticulating and obviously upset. Paradoxically, in the little playground just below our balcony, Jewish mothers were sitting peacefully together watching their children at play.
All of a sudden, a crowd of men began running down the street and into the alleyway beside our Condo. They were running as though someone were chasing them. They waited a few moments and then made their way back up the street toward Safra Square. In a few moments, they ran back, this time it was a stampede. I wondered aloud, “Who in the world would be chasing these religious Jews on their holy day, and why would they desecrate the Sabbath in such a way?” It was almost dark before the street finally emptied and was quiet again.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: From the Jerusalem Post, June 7, 2009
Haredim riot in Jerusalem over Shabbat opening of parking lot
“In a violent new flare-up of haredi-secular tensions in Jerusalem, thousands of haredim rioted on Saturday at the entrance to city hall over the city’s decision to open a parking lot under the municipality buildings at Kikar Safra for visitors on Shabbat.”
“A non-Jew was used to operate the lot in accordance with Jewish religious law.”
The haredim threw rocks, food, and diapers at the policemen (who were trying to quell the riot). One policeman was hospitalized. The article goes on to explain that the lots near the Old City had been closed on Shabbat due to pressure from the haredim and that this was an effort by the city to make parking available for the visitors who come to Jerusalem on Shabbat. It would be free of charge (so no money would change hands). The mayor had consulted with haredim representatives before announcing his decision to open the parking lot. Yet more such demonstrations are promised.
So, the haredim desecrated the Sabbath they bound themselves to keep. How to explain the unexplainable? Jesus said, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye …” (Luke 6:41, 42)
The haredim, who are the ultra-orthodox branch of Judaism, are some of the most elegantly dressed. The ladies wear long black skirts, with jackets of black, gray, or white, or dresses of soft muted colors. Who could guess that there could be such a variety of styles and ways to wear black and white? Their heads are crowned with scarves wrapped in ingenuous ways or lovely hats.
The husbands are dressed even more elegantly in their knee-length black or gold or white brocade coats and tall fur hats. Their children are usually dressed to match: the boys in black trousers and vests, white shirts, and small round black kipas on their heads; the little girls in matching dresses of black and white, often heavily embroidered. Usually, there is a baby in a stroller. With prayer books in their hands and the husband wearing his prayer shawl or carrying it in a special sack, they make a beautiful picture of piety, peace, and holiness. As I said, we love watching them and this past Shabbat was no different.
WHAT I HEARD: It was early afternoon and, from the direction of Safra Square, we heard the roar of a crowd. To Neal, it sounded like a demonstration. But to my ears, it sounded like a soccer game in progress. We had heard the same kind of sound in Rome when a giant-screen TV was set up in a piazza and the Italians gathered to cheer on their national team. The rise and fall of the noise sounded just like that. And, so in an effort to explain the unexplainable, I declared it a soccer game: either being broadcast at Safra Square or being played there in the big concrete piazza surrounded by the municipal buildings.
On Shabbat, in downtown Jerusalem, the streets are deserted except for a few tourists looking for a place to eat. All the shops are closed. All is quiet. The roar went on for hours. I wondered why someone would desecrate the Sabbath like that and why they were allowed to.
WHAT I SAW: I had gone out on the balcony several times to listen to the cacophony, but now there were things happening in the street behind our Condo. The haredim men and boys were congregating in little groups, looking up the street toward Safra Square, gesticulating and obviously upset. Paradoxically, in the little playground just below our balcony, Jewish mothers were sitting peacefully together watching their children at play.
All of a sudden, a crowd of men began running down the street and into the alleyway beside our Condo. They were running as though someone were chasing them. They waited a few moments and then made their way back up the street toward Safra Square. In a few moments, they ran back, this time it was a stampede. I wondered aloud, “Who in the world would be chasing these religious Jews on their holy day, and why would they desecrate the Sabbath in such a way?” It was almost dark before the street finally emptied and was quiet again.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: From the Jerusalem Post, June 7, 2009
Haredim riot in Jerusalem over Shabbat opening of parking lot
“In a violent new flare-up of haredi-secular tensions in Jerusalem, thousands of haredim rioted on Saturday at the entrance to city hall over the city’s decision to open a parking lot under the municipality buildings at Kikar Safra for visitors on Shabbat.”
“A non-Jew was used to operate the lot in accordance with Jewish religious law.”
The haredim threw rocks, food, and diapers at the policemen (who were trying to quell the riot). One policeman was hospitalized. The article goes on to explain that the lots near the Old City had been closed on Shabbat due to pressure from the haredim and that this was an effort by the city to make parking available for the visitors who come to Jerusalem on Shabbat. It would be free of charge (so no money would change hands). The mayor had consulted with haredim representatives before announcing his decision to open the parking lot. Yet more such demonstrations are promised.
So, the haredim desecrated the Sabbath they bound themselves to keep. How to explain the unexplainable? Jesus said, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye …” (Luke 6:41, 42)
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