Wandering battlefields

Haredi city council representatives still wield their influence to impose their views; representatives of the general non-haredi public tend to be too accommodating.

By PEGGY CIDOR
The latest source of haredi-secular tension is playing out in Homat Shmuel (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The latest source of haredi-secular tension is playing out in Homat Shmuel
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with popularizing the concept of “wandering battlefields” – surprising his enemies who were lying in wait for him somewhere with an attack somewhere else. Time after time, he employed this tactic to knock enemy armies out.
While it is unclear if the spirit of the little Corsican corporal who became an emperor thanks to his military genius is blowing on Jerusalem’s neighborhoods, the resemblance is sometimes striking.
For years, Jerusalemites on both sides of the haredi-secular rift have regarded Kiryat Hayovel as the major battlefield of this struggle. This week, a new front opened in the southeast, promising new tension, struggles and an unavoidable trail of hatred between the parties. The expansion of the arena of religious battles surprised many residents of all denominations, as well as some of their representatives at city council. Meanwhile, no one can guess where will the next fire will flare up.
This week Homat Shmuel (Har Homa) council chairman Shlomo Golbari announced that he would not allow girls to sing in a mixed choir at the official Remembrance Day ceremony, raising an immediate uproar from critics. Interestingly, the majority of the residents, most of whom are religious, are opposed to – or at least not enthusiastic about – this decision, including the neighborhood’s rabbi, Avi Ederi, an IDF officer reservist.
Deputy Mayor Meir Turgeman – city planning and construction committee head and himself a religious resident of the neighborhood – has also expressed his opposition to Golbari’s initiative.
Asked what Mayor Nir Barkat’s position on Golbari’s dictum is, a municipality spokesman answered that the mayor would not tolerate it, adding that if this initiative is implemented, municipal budgets for the Homat Shmuel memorial and Independence Day activities will be canceled.
This appears to be just another failed attempt by a member of the Zionist haredi sector (in this case, Golbari) to impose strict religious restrictions, including exclusion of women, but this new incident underscores the growing tension between the haredi sector and the rest of the residents in several neighborhoods.
For the moment, judging by the prompt and clear reaction of Barkat, it seems that girls will sing at that ceremony, but that’s only a small part of a larger struggle with tremendous issues at stake – foremost the upcoming elections for the council and next mayor.
Meanwhile, in the key battlefield in Kiryat Hayovel, things are not improving following the closure of the Mifletzet bar by a municipal decree signed by Barkat. It is naïve to think that shutting down a neighborhood bar located on a community center backyard plot because its owners want to keep it open on Shabbat will not heighten residents’ frustration; excluding females from singing in a mixed choir at a memorial ceremony is equally outrageous.
Do people believe that the public will accept shutting down such community initiatives just because some haredi council members threaten to launch a battle on it? Last Saturday night, several hundred residents of Kiryat Hayovel – and apparently from other neighborhoods as well – showed up at the Mifletzet site to express anger at the mayor’s decision.
The understanding that this city is comprised of mixed communities – and that there should be a place for each of them – hasn’t reached the political level.
Haredi city council representatives still wield their influence to impose their views; representatives of the general non-haredi public tend to be too accommodating.
Beyond the fact that a community bar has been shut down on Shabbat, what results is an erosion of trust between residents and their elected representatives.
More than 10 years ago, this process was halted because then-deputy mayor Yehoshua Pollak thought that nothing could stop the haredi hegemony. He made one wrong step – forcing girls dancing at the inauguration of the Bridge of Strings to wear sacks over their outfits. That was the last straw that woke up non-haredi residents and brought Barkat to power.
The question is, are we repeating the same scenario?