At least four haredim were reportedly arrested Tuesday in Jaffa during a protest at a contruction site. The haredim claim the site is disturbing ancient Jewish graves.
Police arrest a haredi man in Jaffa Tuesday
Yeshiva World reports that at least four haredim were arrested on Tuesday at the Andromeda construction site in Jaffa.
The haredim claim the construction is damaging ancient Jewish graves.
All construction in Israel that involves digging is supervised by Israel’s Antiquities Authority, which relocates, seals or otherwise protects ancient graves and anything else of archaeological and historical value found. In some cases, the Antiquities Authority has delayed construction for very long periods of time in order to excavate sites, and proposed buildings are sometimes moved to new sites if a very significant archaeological find is made on its original site.
Nonetheless, various haredi groups have made a career out of protesting major construction sites – often, some allege, to try to force the builders to appoint rabbis from these groups as “overseers” paid by the construction company or real estate developer.