JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hundreds of demonstrators blocked the street leading to a Jerusalem parking lot that the municipality operates on Shabbat.
Some 15 fervently Orthodox men were arrested Saturday night for blocking the entrance to the Carta parking lot. One policeman was injured and taken to the hospital after being kicked in the stomach. Protesters reportedly shouted epithets at the police, calling them "Nazis," among other things, and threw eggs at them.
The Carta lot, which is privately owned and in receivership, began opening on Shabbat last month under orders of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in order to assist Saturday visitors to the holy city. The lot is staffed by non-Jews and is free on Shabbat.
A small group of secular Jerusalem residents mounted a counter protest, handing out maps of the city and a list of Jerusalem shops that operate during the day on Saturday, according to reports.
