JERUSALEM (JTA) — The leadership of the fervently Orthodox groups that have been demonstrating in Jerusalem called on followers to avoid violence and property damage.
A letter from the Edat Haredit rabbinical court issued Thursday warned protesters to rein in the violence following an incident Wednesday in which several dozen fervently Orthodox protesters attacked a Palestinian cab driver.
Edat Haredit is the umbrella organization for several insular Chasidic organizations including Satmar, Breslav, Toldot Aharon and Dushinsky.
The letter said that haredi protesters should confine their demonstrations to their neighborhoods and not demonstrate near the Carta parking lot, whose opening on Shabbat two months ago sparked the ongoing protests. Children and unmarried men are banned from the protests, according to the letter.
The letter states that "in protests for the dignity of heavens, and against those seeking to overrun the fortifications of religious wisdom, one must still conduct himself by Torah law and spirit, not to carry out acts of violence like stoning, burning and spitting or to cause any damage to any property."
Many of the recent riots, however, have been sparked by young men not affiliated with the Edat Haredit, according to Ha’aretz.
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