A truce of sorts was announced Tuesday in the spray paint and arson war by ultra-Orthodox zealots against what they decided are "indecent" advertising posters at bus stops in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel.
Rahamim Comfort, police commander in the Jerusalem region, told reporters that the heads of the ultra-Orthodox community had agreed to restrain their disciples in exchange for the release on bail of 10 men arrested last week on charges of vandalism and disorderly conduct. The 10 include Rabbi Uri Blau of the Neturei Karta sect which holds the State of Israel to be illegitimate.
Comfort said however that the police will continue to arrest anyone caught defacing public or private property or setting torch to it. Five ultra-Orthodox men were given three-month prison terms by a Jerusalem magistrate’s court Tuesday plus five months suspended sentences and ordered to pay compensation for damage they caused. A sixth defendant, a youth under 21, was released on probation.
KOLLEK SEES ‘CIVIL UPRISING’
Mayor Teddy Kollek believes the police should take tougher measures against religious zealots and suggested that trouble-makers be sent to jails far from Jerusalem. Kollek, who has been vilified by the ultra-Orthodox Jews here and abroad, said the situation in Jerusalem is tantamount to "a civil uprising."
Of the six who appeared at magistrate’s court Tuesday, three were charged with spraying paint on a fashion poster on King David Street and three with defacing an advertisement for mayonnaise in the Rehavia district. Both posters were far from the religious neighborhoods.
The defendants, who refuse to recognize the court, said they were not prepared to see "indecent displays" anywhere in the country where a religious person might pass by. They and their cohorts initially singled out advertisements showing women in bathing suits but went on to deface ads in which women were fully clothed.
In the course of their trial, they made clear that the posters were not the issue but rather the nature of Israeli society. They claimed they acted in compliance with "the higher law than the secular code of justice." One defendant called for the overthrow of the government, by force if necessary, and its replacement by a state based on religious law.
Several score bus stop shelters have been sprayed with black paint or set on fire in recent weeks. Kollek warned that if the police did not take harsh action against religious zealots, other extremists would take revenge. "If the police lets religious elements act as they do, why shouldn’t the Arabs do the same?" he asked.
Kollek led the annual Youth Parade through the streets of Jerusalem Tuesday afternoon. He said the colorful procession should demonstrate to the ultra-Orthodox that they do not rule the city. "This city still has life, youth and culture," the Mayor said.
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