Thousands upon thousands of Hasidim converged on the area surrounding the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel here Sunday to protest the presence of Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek, whom they accuse in the strongest terms of being anti-religious Jews.
The massive crowd, estimated at upwards of 5,000, swelled the streets surrounding the luxurious Park Avenue hotel where Kollek was addressing an Israel Bonds dinner. Arriving in chartered buses, the
The protest was coordinated by the Central Rabbinical Congress of the U.S.A. and Canada, which represents what are known as “Haredim,” i.e., those who, for the most part, are against the State of Israel as a
Protesters spoke vigorously and angrily against what they claim are illegal arrests of innocent Hasidim and other religious Jews without due process of law, charged with defacing what they consider pornographic posters of women in their own neighborhood,
The demonstration was the second such in less than 24 hours. Saturday night at about 11 p.m., hundreds of Hasidim encircled the hotel on foot and automobile, honking horns and snarling traffic in the congested area.
In Sunday’s protest, held very high above the throngs were huge posters bearing such slogans as “Stop Persecuting and Torturing Hasidic Jews in Israel,” “Zionism is a Misfortune for the Jews,” and “Hitler, Stalin,
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.
