Religious fanatics who last week molested consular and United Nations cars passing through the Mea Shearim quarter of Jerusalem on the Sabbath endanger Israel’s position in the world, Mayor Daniel Auster of this city declared today, addressing a meeting of the municipal council.
He added that the extremists “staged a demonstration to prove the necessity for internationalization of the Holy City as advocated by that small minority.” Stringent police measures were demanded by Mr. Auster to cope with the situation. The only road from the New City–held by Israel–to the Old City, held by Jordan, passes through the Mea Shearim quarter, inhabited chiefly by followers of the Neturei Karta ultra-religious sect, which considers vehicular traffic on the Sabbath a desecration.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.