Mayor Nir Barkat experienced a rude awakening regarding the realities of Jerusalem politics last weekend when thousands of haredim rioted in response to his opening of the Kikar Safra parking lot on Shabbat.
A previous haredi protest in J'lem.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski
Until now, Barkat had been engaged in what seemed like a honeymoon with the haredim, whom he had edged out of office to take the municipal race six months ago. The former hi-tech entrepreneur, who ran on a platform aimed at revitalizing the city's disgruntled secular population, had created a wall-to-wall coalition after taking office, hoping to achieve a modus vivendi with the haredim. However, last weekend's events provided a reminder, if one was needed, that in such matters it is the anti-Zionist Eda Haredit that sets the tone.
Barkat has no plans to back down - the parking lot is set to open again this weekend - and his spokesman Evyatar Elad says the mayor will speak only with his coalition partners and not with representatives of the anti-zionist groups who were behind Saturday's riots. The haredim for their part are planning a massive prayer assembly for Friday.
Barkat's handling of the affair shows him up as a novice, says Chaim Miller, a former deputy mayor under Ehud Olmert and a Gur hassid. "It all happened because of the mayor's lack of experience," says Miller. "He didn't consult anyone before he made his decision [about the parking lot]. He is surrounded by inexperienced people who can't tell the difference between a hassid and a mitnaged."
Barkat's inexperience aside, the question remains: What was the real reason behind the riots? The pashkevilim in the streets of Mea She'arim note the "terrible breach in the walls of the holy Shabbat caused by the Zionist municipality," rhetoric that has been rarely used recently. Various figures from within the haredi community have said that the fact that Kikar Safra is a public parking lot and not a private location was what sparked the haredi community's ire. However, given that the Eda Haredit usually boycotts the public place in question, namely the Jerusalem municipality, the situation is, in fact, not so clear-cut.
Yahadut Hatorah MK Uri Maklev, a former deputy mayor under Barkat's predecessor Uri Lupolianski, says the opening of the Kikar Safra parking lot is a breach of the status quo and that is the reason for the outburst of hostility and violence. "The Safra parking lot is part of the municipality, which symbolizes something public - and that is unacceptable," says Maklev.
But city councilor Meir Turgeman, the head of the one-man opposition at city hall and a former member of Barkat's party, says the parking lot is just a symptom.
"For the haredi community, this mayor's attitude is a big disappointment," says Turgeman. "They feel rejected and humiliated in many other goings-on at Kikar Safra. For them, it is as if the winners have decided to show them publicly who the new bosses are.
"It's a shame. I am a member of the planning committee, which was formerly in haredi hands. I can tell you about construction plans in their neighborhoods that have already been approved and are now being brought back for additional discussion as if someone wanted to make them feel totally insecure.
"I do not advocate the use of violence, but frankly I am not surprised. The city attorney is closing the haredi synagogues and kindergartens located in secular neighborhoods; they cannot build housing for their children. No wonder there's a lot of resentment there."
However, Meretz councilor Meir Margalit blames the outburst on internal haredi politics. "This is more a retaliation from the rabbis against the haredi politicians than an open war against the the city's secular population," says Margalit.
"It's been a while now that the spiritual leaders, the rabbis, have been
dissatisfied - to put it mildly - with the behavior, namely the independence expressed by their politicians, who decide and move forward without asking them too much. They don't like it, and they express their disapproval. In other words, it is their way of saying loudly and clearly, 'Don't forget who is in charge here.'"
One man who can perhaps explain why 6,000 haredim turned out in their best Shabbat outfits to fight a pitched battle with police only a stone's throw from an area where restaurants and bars have been open on Shabbat for the last few years is Shlomo Papenheim, one of the leaders of the Eda Haredit community.
Born in Germany, Papenheim came to Jerusalem 70 years ago, but his polite manners and yekkish accent have not faded, a fact that makes it hard to believe he was party to the events of last Saturday.
"We understand this kulturkampf. We, of course, believe that all Israel is the guardian of all Jews. We see the secular population as Jews. We are responsible for them, and we strongly believe that the future of our people in the Land of Israel depends on our ability to keep the Torah, at least the minimum - Shabbat, of course," Papenheim tells In Jerusalem. "Thus any breach threatens us and causes us much anxiety. We understand that the secular want to live their lives as they wish; they have only one day free in the week, and here they miss what is available in Tel Aviv. We want to keep the status quo as it has been agreed upon for 60 years, but we see that the secular are saying, '60 years, it's enough.' But we want Jerusalem to remain holy. We don't want to end up like the Vatican and Rome, where they allow a gay pride parade; or like Cologne, the most Catholic city in Germany, which holds the biggest gay pride parade. We want to save and to preserve the holy character of Jerusalem. Every breach threatens us. Why don't they [the municipality] look for a place that is not official for this parking? Why of all places the municipality parking? They should look for a place that is not establishment, not official," he says.
"You know," Papenheim continues, "contrary to what the secular think, we have no interest in haredizing the secular neighborhoods. We just need some place to live for our families and children, and as soon as we obtain the right to build in our neighborhoods, you won't see us there. We understand that we cannot live together, and you can't either. But what is this hatred about? What is our sin? That we are ready to pay full price for apartments available in Kiryat Yovel that no one ever dreamed of selling at those prices? We need to live somewhere, don't we? You know, it could be worse. If we have no choice, we might invade empty buildings and squat or, even worse, install a wide tent city in the city center. Just imagine the world media reporting on how observant Jews are treated in the State of Israel, forced to live in tents with children because no one wants them in their neighborhoods.
