Ultra-Orthodox Tel Aviv suburb blocks roads to keep secular drivers out on Shabbat

The Municipality of Bnei Brak, a predominantly Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) suburb of Tel Aviv, placed dumpsters in streets leading into the city from an adjacent predominantly secular neighborhood on Friday to prevent vehicles from entering during Shabbat.

Motorists attempting to drive through the area reported encountering trucks unloading dumpsters in the middle of the streets, with drivers telling them they had been assigned by the municipality to carry out the task, according to media reports.

The move is the latest flashpoint in growing tensions between Haredi and secular residents over the use of public spaces and observance of Shabbat in cities across Israel.

The Channel 12 media portal reported that police units responding to calls for intervention told local residents that because of the “complex situation,” they were powerless to remove the dumpsters and clear the roads. Other media reports indicated that some dumpsters were later moved by police volunteers, although the roads remained partially blocked.

“What happens if there is a fire?” a resident of the area rhetorically asked a journalist from the Haaretz newspaper. “There is going to be a religious war in the neighborhood and the police cannot cope.”

The Bnei Brak Municipality issued a statement Saturday evening saying that the “vast majority of the neighborhood consists of Shabbat-observant residents, who wish to preserve the neighborhood’s character on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.”

“To that end, the municipal transportation committee approved the closure of the Moshe Yehuda Leib bridge on Shabbat, while leaving an available entrance and exit through the Design Center compound.”

“It is highly regrettable to see that some are disrespecting the arrangements, breaking municipal rules, and trying to inflame the tensions and create unnecessary provocations on the ground.”

Police issued their own statement saying that the Bnei Brak Municipality had not coordinated the move with them. Ynet also reported that city council opposition leader Yaakov Vider said the plan's approval process had skipped several bureaucratic steps.

In a related incident, Haredi protesters stood in the road at the entrance to Jerusalem Saturday evening to prevent buses traveling from northern Israel from entering the city before the official end of Shabbat.

Media reports said only one police vehicle arrived at the scene and left shortly afterward without clearing the road. The protesters kept the route blocked for about an hour until Shabbat ended, then voluntarily dispersed.

The incidents come amid escalating tensions between haredi and secular communities in several Israeli cities in recent months.

“We can’t continue to have this situation where there’s one set of laws for one group and different laws for everyone else,” lamented Jerusalem resident Jennifer K., who identified as “mostly secular but also traditional” in regard to her observance of Jewish customs.

“The government has been kicking a lot of cans down a lot of roads for a very long time,” she continued. “We’ve got too many cans and we’re running out of road. Something’s going to have to give at some point. I hope we don’t break like we did when King Solomon died.”