Warming up • Stormy Shabbos: Orthodox and secular in battle over the capital

Local elections in Jerusalem are approaching, and as if a predetermined timing, Orthodox - secular relations heat up in the city. B'Chadrei Charedim learned that on Shabbos when a group of ultra-Orthodox goes out to Haneviim Street to demonstrate against the desecration of Shabbos, a counter secular group will demonstrate for violating Shabbos.

Background to the scorching debate, is the opening of Cinema City, a huge movie complex, which will be launched next June in the national park. Wrath of the secular residents woke upon publishing of the fact that the place is closed on Shabbos and holidays.

Recently a petition of residents circulated on the network, initiatives are members of Hitorerut - a group of young secular struggling against the orthodoxy of the capital, and calls Jerusalem Municipality and its mayor, Nir Barkat, to allow the opening of the complex on Shabbos. More than 9000 people signed the petition so far, but you cannot know how many of them are Jerusalem residents.

The petition states the following: "the city of Jerusalem has a wide range of audiences and the community is very diverse, the closure of the 'Cinema City' on Shabbos is discrimination against the secular and non-Jewish public in the city. With this step the Ministry of Finance and the Jerusalem municipality leads to Jerusalem residents who do not observe Shabbos, public tourists who plague the city and the non-Jewish public living in the city are spending their weekends outside the city, where there is response to their needs on Shabbos - and it also brings significant economic harm to the city.

"The opening of the place on Shabbos is not a violation of the status quo. Contrary, the closure is a violation of the status quo, as there are other theaters in town open on Shabbos, as well as other branches of the 'Cinema City' across the country." Note that the protesters are encouraged by the orders of the Finance Ministry to re-examine the proposal to open the enclosure on Shabbos.

But struggle initiators do not stop there: the "Free Israel", another organization struggling against orthodoxy, is organizing on Shabbos afternoon a demonstration under the municipality building in Safra Square, against the intention to close the compound. As usual, there are members of the Ultra-Orthodox community holding a street demonstration against the desecration of Shabbos on Haneviim Street.

Will demonstrations flare and turn into sustained incendiary? We will continue to monitor and report.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!