Neturei Karta leaders in Jerusalem asked Israeli police for help this week, one of the few times – or perhaps the first time – the vehemently anti-Zionist haredi group that does not recognize the state of Israel has ever done so.
Neturei Karta students attacking an elderly hasid at a wedding in Jerusalem earlier this year
Neturei Karta Asks Israeli Cops For Help
The rabidly anti-Zionist group for the first time asks for help from a government it does not recognize
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Neturei Karta leaders in Jerusalem asked Israeli police for help this week, one of the few times – or perhaps the first time – the vehemently anti-Zionist haredi group that does not recognize the state of Israel has ever done so, the Jerusalem Post reported.
At issue is the return of public buses to Mea Shearim, the Jerusalem neighborhood that is the group’s stronghold.
Neturei Karta claims the buses pollute the air and that they pose a danger because the neighborhood’s streets are exceedingly narrow. They want police to stop the buses from entering the neighborhood.
Public buses ran on those same streets for decades until violence two years ago against the buses by Sicarii gang members, many of whom are also Neturei Karta members, forced the Egged bus company to reroute buses to run outside Mea Shearim.
The Sicarii violence was in response to the refusal of Egged to gender segregate the buses. Bus service was brought back to Mea Shearim two weeks ago after an 18 month gap.
A breakaway group from last night’s massive haredi protest against the government’s decision to take over the management and care of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s tomb in Meron stoned Egged buses in retaliation for bus service being restored to Mea Shearim.
Israeli press reports have noted that area residents want and need the bus service but are afraid to openly oppose the Sicarii.
The Post is also reporting that an unnamed senior haredi rabbi has now asked a group of "millionaires" to fund a haredi bus company that would have mandatory gender segregation. Buses would run in Jerusalem and between large haredi enclaves, like the one in Ashkelon, and Jerusalem.