Sunday, July 12, 2009

Ultra-Orthodox Jews Riot Over Opening of a Parking Lot on Sabath


July 12, 2009 on FOX News
JERUSALEM (AP) — Ultra-Orthodox Jews threw themselves under the wheels of an idling bus and in front of waiting cars to protest the opening of a parking lot on the Jewish Sabbath — an act they consider an abomination.

The municipality opened the lot on Saturdays last month to limit illegal parking in the city's ancient walled quarter. That enraged the ultra-Orthodox community and has provoked several straight weeks of protests because driving is a violation of the Sabbath under Jewish law.

Tensions between Jerusalem's religious and secular communities have been simmering for years as the ultra-Orthodox community has grown in size and influence. Secular residents say the religious are trying to impose their beliefs on Jerusalem, and the atmosphere is one reason thousands of secular Jerusalemites leave the city each year. Read more

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