Neturei Karta hold anti-Israel protest on Memorial Day eve

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Members of radical anti-Zionist sect clash with police officers in Jerusalem during moment of silence in memory of fallen soldiers. One protestor arrested after torching Israeli flag

Shmulik Grossman
Published:    04.18.10, 22:47 / Israel News

While the Remembrance Day ceremony in honor of Israel's fallen soldiers took place at the Western Wall plaza Sunday evening, a group of Neturei Karta used the occasion to demonstrate their hostility towards the State of Israel.

 

Some 150 members of the anti-Zionist sect rioted in Jerusalem's Shabbat Square and waved anti-Israel signs. One protestor went as far as burning the Israeli flag and was promptly arrested.

 

An undercover police detective disguised as a haredi man spotted the suspect torching the flag and arrested him.

 

A local haredi man said that the group's protests this year had a harsher tone than in previous remembrance days. "They called out slogans against Israel and wrote 'Jews aren't Zionists' on their signs. They continued rioting even when the siren went off," he said.

 

He further stated that the group's conduct was unacceptable to many of the haredim residing in the area.

 


Protest in Jerusalem. (Photo: 24 News news agency)

 

The protest was shut down after demonstrators clashed with police officers. Shortly thereafter, members of Neturei Karta began torching trash bins on the adjacent Shivtei Yisrael Street and effectively blocked the road.

 

Another defying event was recorded in Tel Aviv, when a group of 20 ultra-Orthodox decided to mark the Memorial Day eve by celebrating a birthday at Yarkon Park.

 
Anti-Israel campaign

The Neturei Karta faction's campaign against Israel has been going for years, but has recently exacerbated.

 

Last January a group of four faction members, US and Candian citizens, arrived in the Gaza Strip and spent Shabbat with Hamas members. They noted that the visit was aimed at showing support for the Palestinian people.

 

Another usual event was recorded in December 2006 when members of the Neturei Karta delegation to Tehran were made guests of honor in a Holocaust-denial conference hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They thanked Ahmadinejad for his "courageous stance against the crimes of the Zionist regime."

 

They further noted they disapproved of "Zionist crimes in occupied Palestine" and noted that the massacre of Jews in WWII served as an excuse for Zionists to establish the State of Israel.

 
Yoav Zitun contributed to this report