Ultra-orthodox Jews turn to burning bus shelters

Press, 20 December 1985, Page 18

Ultra-orthodox Jews turn to burning bus shelters

From

ROBIN LUSTIG

in Jerusalem

Ultra-orthodox Jewish extremists are suspected of having set fire to more than 20 Jerusalem busshelters worth about $178,000 in recent weeks, apparently in protest against advertisements featuring scantily-clad women which adorn some of the shelters.

The Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek, has angrily denounced the arsonists as “enemies of the State” and offered a $9OOO reward to anyone who helps police catch the perpetrators.

The bounty immediately resulted in the arrest of one man, described as a 24-year-old “religious zealot,” by four youths lying in wait at a bus stop in an orthodox area of the city.

“We figured the most likely time (for an attack) would be between fwn and four o’clock in the mornine” said one of the youths. “Sure SwTat about 330, this Jellow showed up with two or companions and began to prowl

around. Once he was certain he was not being watched, he began to attack the shelter.”

The protests have led to the cancellation of bus services to the ultra-orthodox neighbourhood of Mea Shearim after stones were thrown at two buses in the area. The new spate of unrest follows a lull of some months since an earlier bout of attacks on buses led to the removal of potentially objectionable advertisements from the shelters.

It is not known what led to the new outbreak of arson attacks, but commentators here have linked it to the orthodox religious community’s growing assertiveness in a number of spheres. In recent weeks, police officers have Jjeen physically prevented from making arrests in religious neighbourhoods,

and tax inspectors have had to demand police escorts before venturing into the most militant areas of the city. The English-language “Jerusalem Post” commented in an editorial: “The' problem is not confined to bus shelters. It lies in the general tendency of Mea Shearim denizens to view their quarter as being located outside the jurisdiction of the State — a legitimate base for depredations against the licentious majority that still controls the city administration.” Jerusalem’s ultra-orthodox community — easily recognisable in their eighteenth-century black frock coats, wide-brimmed hats, beards, and side curls — now make up more than a quarter of the Jewish population of Jerusalem, a

figure that is steadily rising by virtue of their extremely high birth rate. Many do not recognise the legitimacy of the Israeli State, believing that the true State of Israel cannot be formed until the arrival of the Messiah. Police say they are receiving very little co-operation from members of the community as they try to identify the perpetrators of the latest attacks. Because all the men wear identical clothing, eye-wit-nesses have been unable to provide much useful information. The bus shelters are a relatively new innovation for Jerusalem, and aroused the religious community’s wrath when some of the shelters erected in their area carried swimwear advertisements which they

considered indecent. Since then, the

advertising company which controls the placing of the advertisements has been careful not to place such advertisements in orthodox neighbourhoods. Copyright — London Observer Service.