Eruv Sabotage in South Yerushalayim Ratcheted Up

Hundreds of thousands of south Jerusalem residents were left without a proper eruv following the latest act of sabotage in an ongoing series of attacks against eruv poles. The relentless strikes have been taking place for several years, and in the recent incident dozens of poles were uprooted to the southwest of the city, using bulldozers stolen from the site after razing the poles’ foundations.

During a routine inspection of the eruv last week, rabbis from the Jerusalem Religious Council were surprised to find the extensive damage near Rechov Panama in the Kiryat Menachem neighborhood. They spoke out angrily against the regular cutting of eruv lines, causing many people to transgress the prohibition against carrying.

These eruv poles have been legally approved, marked, numbered and listed on municipality maps as well as the map of the agreed eruv line published by city hall. This line has been in place for decades, ever since the neighborhood was first built. In the past three years the line was refurbished as part of an eruv upgrading project throughout the city.

Certain local opponents were irked by the upgrade, though the line did not belong to chareidim, but has served all Jerusalem residents since the time of the Turkish Mandate. City officials were puzzled by the act, which caused substantial monetary damage, and questioned the failure to enforce the law by protecting the eruv and preventing damage to public property.

{Deiah Vedibur/Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}