21 July 2016 טו תמוז תשע"ו
Dear Chief Rabbi Stern,
I was pleased to learn that you had been able to persuade
the Mayor of Jerusalem, Barkat, that it was an affront for Gay Parade flags to
be displayed in Rechov King George outside the Great Synagogue.
However, I am concerned that you appear to be unable/unwilling
to persuade the Mayor to enforce the State Law that requires Rechov King George
to be closed during the periods of Tefillah in both the Great Synagogue and
Yeshurun Central Zionist Synagogue on Shabbat and Chagim. I have sent you
numerous requests since your appointment but have never received any form of
response.
I understand that the Jerusalem Police are closing the roads
commencing at 14.30 till the end of the parade after 18.00 including streets on
the route of the Gay Parade March including Rechov King George and Keren
Hayasod as well as adjacent streets. This period of closure will result
in traffic chaos in the city as well as the disruption of public
transport. Furthermore, numerous law enforcement personnel will be
employed including police, border guards and the shabak – at great public
expense – to ensure these people are permitted to openly express in public,
their free will.
However, when it comes to Shabbat and Chagim, it would
appear that the respective authorities refuse to openly allow expressions of
Orthodox Judaism in public by closing Rechov King George from Kikar Paris to
Rechov Maalot, as laid down in the State Law. It should be pointed out
that the disruption on Shabbat and Chagim would not affect public transport on
these streets since, fortunately, public transport currently does not run on
Shabbat and Chagim. To enforce the Law would not require the use of the
mammoth number of Law Enforcement officials as the Parade.
It appears that the Jerusalem Mayor and Police are far more
sensitive to offending Muslims than they are with Jews. On Yom
Yerushalaim the Annual Yom Yerushalaim Flag March through the Old City via
Shaar Shechem was initially refused by the Jerusalem Police, on the grounds
that it would offend the sensitivities of the Muslims prior to the start of
Ramadan. Eventually a compromise was reached whereby the march was
permitted but all participants had to be through Shaar Shechem by 18.15.
If the authorities can deem it their prerogative to enforce such draconian
measures on the expression of Jewish Nationalist pride, surely it is time that
the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem ensured that the Law Enforcement Authorities and
the Municipality were sensitive to the sanctity of Shabbat and Chagim so as not
to offend the observant Jews who reside in the area adjacent to the Great and
Yeshurun Synagogues.
