PARTS of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv disappeared under a sea of black hats as tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews massed in protest against a High Court ruling ordering children from different groups to study at the same school.
Dozens of parents have been sentenced to two weeks in jail for refusing to obey a court ruling that their children should go to the same school in the West Bank settlement of Immanuel.
The ultra-Orthodox community said that they had tried to separate Ashkenazi children, of Eastern European descent, from Sephardi children, of Spanish, Portuguese and Middle Eastern descent, not because of racial origin, but because the Ashkenazis have stricter religious beliefs and did not want their children associating with Sephardis.
“This is religious coercion. The court wishes to impose its secular views on religious Jews,” said one protester, Moshe. “They are jealous of the religious community. They have two children and a dog and we have ten children. Their divorce rate is much higher than ours, too.”
Another said: “The High Court was established with the founding of the State 62 years ago; our religion is 3,000 years old.”
To cheers and singing, several of the sentenced fathers, wearing their best Sabbath clothes, were carried through the throng in an ultra-Orthodox area of Jerusalem before turning themselves in at the city prison.
The court decision underscored the deep division between Israel’s religious and secular Jews, which came to a head last month when Ron Huldai, the secular Mayor of Tel Aviv, openly criticised the Haredi community, whose men generally do not work or serve in the army, preferring instead to study religious texts.
Many secular Israelis resent the fact that their taxes subsidise such insular religious communities, which are growing in size with their high birthrate.
“We have no choice but to speak explicitly about the existence of two sides to Israeli society: those who contribute to its foundation and growth, and those who are funded by them,” Mr Huldai said.
Ultra-Orthodox protesters said yesterday that they would not bow to the court’s demands. The demonstrations included men and women – protesting separately.
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