An order issued by Transportation Minister Meir Shetreet to
open Sderot (Boulevard) Warburg, which has been closed on
Shabbos for the past 35 years, led to large-scale Shabbos
desecration in Kiryat Shmuel, a mostly chareidi neighborhood
on the outskirts of Haifa.
A proposal is currently being hammered out to swap the
location of the southbound lanes and the landscaped strip in
the center of the current boulevard. That way there will be a
natural barrier between the homes and the traffic. MK Rabbi
Moshe Gafni said until a solution is finalized and the road
paved it should remain closed on Shabbosos as it has been for
35 years.
City of Haifa Spokesman Tzachi Tarno said Mayor Yona Yahav
already ordered the Yeffeh Nof company to implement the
solution. "Not only will the original situation be restored
but they will get a green belt outside their home," he said.
Still he acknowledges that the Transportation Ministry is
unwilling to accept the temporary arrangement to reroute
traffic until the solution is carried out.
Kiryat Shmuel's new Action Committee is already preparing to
hold protest demonstrations and tefillos on the main
street this Shabbos as well. The committee called on
residents to invite relatives for Shabbos to join the
demonstration.
Councilman Blitental, who is leading the campaign on the
municipal front, says it will take a long time for the
solution to be implemented and in the meantime the road
should remain closed on Shabbos.
Last week parshas Shelach, local residents held
Shabbos tefillos at the site and police arrested 24
protesters, transporting most of them against their will to a
nearby police station and some to Tirat HaCarmel, even though
they asked to walk.
According to MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni, "The issue will be raised
at Degel HaTorah's meeting with Prime Minister Sharon."
Warburg Avenue, a major thoroughfare bordering on the 5,000-
resident neighborhood of Kiryat Shmuel said to be over 90
percent religious, has four lanes, two northbound and two
southbound, separated by a wide landscaped divider.
Thirty-five years ago after the road was expanded to its
current width, the municipality promised that the southbound
lanes that are near the Kiryat Shmuel homes would be closed
on Shabbos, along with the neighborhood's internal streets.
The two usually-northbound lanes were turned into a two-way
street on Shabbos.
According to Ha'aretz, increased traffic over the
years has led to a rise in the number of accidents on Warburg
Avenue on Shabbos. Three years ago, Haifa Municipal Council
member Dr. Moshe Becker (Shinui) conducted a study showing
that accidents on Shabbos were at three times the accident
rate during the week.
After verifying of the figures, the supervisor of transport
in the Transportation Ministry ordered the road opened on
Shabbos. The residents appealed to the Haifa District Court,
which directed the Ministry to study an additional report
presented by the residents. The supervisor subsequently
ordered the road be kept open only on summer Shabbosim, when
there is more traffic. On winter Shabbosim, traffic would be
diverted to another road.
All last week Kiryat Shmuel residents tried to solicit the
government, through Rabbi Gafni and other public figures, to
maintain the longstanding status quo, but on Thursday
Minister Shetreet ordered the road opened, refusing to
postpone the matter for further discussion at the beginning
of this week.
Councilman Rabbi Aryeh Blitental (UTJ) went to Kiryat Shmuel
to spend Shabbos with the neighborhood residents. At first
the police refused to grant a permit to hold the Shabbos
tefillos alongside the road but following intervention
by Rabbi Gafni, Rabbi Blitental was able to secure the
permit. On Shabbos Night all of the botei knesses in
Kiryat Shmuel remained closed as thousands of residents
streamed out to the roadside. According to the permit, when
the tefilloh concluded at 8:45 p.m. the residents were
to disperse. Local representatives claim at precisely that
hour special patrol units, the Border Patrol, mounted police,
police from the nearby police-training school, Coastal
District police and additional forces—a total of 700
policemen—descended, raining them with blows. Some of
the mispallelim who tried to return to the sidewalk
but were unable to, were beaten as well.
Seven arrests were made on Shabbos Night and 17 during the
day. Some of the arrested pleaded to be allowed to walk to
the station but the police denied their request.
Rabbi Blitental repeatedly asked the police to show
restraint. He says Councilman Moshe Becker (Shinui), who was
at the site, contributed to the inability to engage in
dialogue. "I cannot understand why it was necessary to exert
excessive force," said Rabbi Blitental. "This is a severe
violation of the status quo and therefore the residents will
continue to protest as long as the road remains open."
Kiryat Shmuel Committee members said they will not hesitate
to continue the battle and called on MKs from all parties to
take action against the violation of the status quo.
Coastal Police Spokesman Moshe Weitzman said the police are
obligated to carry out the Transportation Ministry's
decision. "The orders were to transport the arrested [in
vehicles]. Some of them were brought to Tirat HaCarmel
because there was no room at the Zevulun Police Station. We
did not apply excessive force and on the coming Shabbatot we
will continue to keep Sderot Warburg open as per
Transportation Ministry orders."
Speaking off the record, police sources said many of them
live nearby and genuinely feel the residents' pain. "We
really do identify with the residents but we have to carry
out orders," a local police official told Yated
Ne'eman.
All of the arrested were released on motzei Shabbos without
having charges filed against them and without having to
report for questioning. However police said that on
subsequent Shabbosos arrested will not be released without
taking legal action against them.
MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni held Minister Shetreet directly
responsible for the entire affair. He said the violation of
the status quo, the arrests, the transports on Shabbos and
the fury could all have been spared had Shetreet agreed to
defer discussions on the issue until the beginning of this
week rather than issuing directives on Thursday night. "In
the three recent incidents—Highway 6, the excavations
in Acco and Warburg Road—Shetreet has been against us
and has displayed very anti-religious positions. If he were
objective he would have waited to hold a discussion as we
requested. Unfortunately he acts against us on every issue
and in every matter."
Rabbi Gafni says the violation of the status quo on Sderot
Warburg will be the central issue on the agenda during this
week's meeting between Degel HaTorah MKs and the Prime
Minister.
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Former Mayor of Haifa Supports Kiryat Shmuel
Residents
by Eliezer Rauchberger
"There is no justification, no reason and no logic in
[favoring] one community over another. I sincerely hope a way
can be found to alter the evil decree and bring quiet to the
neighborhood, which has always lived its life in
tranquility," said MK Amram Mitzna (Labor) during a Knesset
plenum meeting Monday. "This is a real mistake. It will be
very bad if this dispute also turns into a dispute between
the religious and the secular or into a Shinui attack against
the religious. In this case the councilman from Shinui `threw
a stone into the pit' and now I don't know if `100
chachomim can get it out.' We live in a country where
we must be attentive and sensitive to one another."
MK Mitzna said that for years, including during his term as
mayor, attempts were made to alter the status quo regarding
the road in Kiryat Shmuel, but he, "managed to convince them
that there was nothing to gain other than bringing entire
communities to a standstill, bringing hundreds of police and
creating another dispute in a quiet place." Calling for
sensitivity and tolerance, Mitzna said he was sure hundreds
of secular residents from Kiryat Chaim, Kiryat Motzkin and
Kiryat Yam took part in the demonstration on Shabbos as well
as the demonstration expected to take place on the coming
Shabbos.
Deputy Welfare Minister MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz said that at
present the most important issue to Degel HaTorah is the
issue of chilul Shabbos in Haifa. Offering praise for
Mitzna's stance, Rabbi Ravitz said, "These remarks were made
by a man who is familiar with the situation and I call on the
Transportation Minister to take MK Mitzna's remarks and
reassess himself and act in accordance."
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