Several hundred religious zealots scuffled with police here Friday night in an attempt to halt the screening of a film on the Sabbath. The crowd, though mainly young Hasidim and other Orthodox youth, included Tel Aviv’s Deputy Mayor Chaim Basuk of the National Religious Party who is leading an attempt to force a ban on Sabbath cinema.
Movie houses have been closed on the Sabbath until recently when a number of them began Friday night performances. This has infuriated religious elements who last night called out their followers to demonstrate in front of a movie house screening of the American film “The Longest Day.” The demonstration amounted to little more than shouted threats until a group attempted to storm the theater. They were held back by police reinforcements who remained on the scene for several hours to ensure the safety of the departing audience when the film ended.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
