Jerusalem Riots

What to even say about this:

Hundreds of haredim took to the streets of Jerusalem Saturday night, setting fire to everything flammable, uprooting a traffic light and assaulting both policemen and civilians. One policeman was lightly wounded and substantial damage was caused to public and police property. Six haredi youths were arrested.

...The Shabat Square was yet again the staging area for Saturday's riots as Israel's ultra orthodox community takes its protest of the upcoming pride parade up a notch. Haredim set fire to large garbage containers and bus stops, uprooted a traffic light, threw firecrackers and rocks at inter-city traffic along routes one and four, damaged several police cars by stretched metal cables across streets and pelting them with rocks.

Jerusalem police arrested four haredi youths after they overturned a garbage container onto the street near the Shabat Square, forcing policemen out of their squad car to be met with a hail of rocks. Two additional haredi youths were arrested in Herzl boulevard for setting bus stops on fire.

Sounds like things are way out of control. I think peaceful protests against the Gay Pride parade would have been absolutely in order here. Hafganot are a way of life in a country with political and religious divisions that run as deep as they do Israel. That said, we could always hope for relatively peaceful and non-violent protests in Israel - I guess those days are over.

The worst part about all of the violence is that it might actually work:
The police are expected to announce their decision regarding the future of the parade on Sunday. Jerusalem police chief, Maj. Gen. Ilan Franco, stated that further deliberations are expected Sunday morning and afternoon. Police commissioner Moshe Karadi will weigh in on the matter. A senior source in the Jerusalem police spoke with Ynet and divulged that if the situation remains as it is, the police will recommend the parade, in its current venue, be cancelled and moved to an enclosed space.

Are we supposed to now believe that the ends - the cancellation of the parade, as reprehensible as it may have been to the Charedi community - justify the means of arson, violence, and destruction of property, not to mention the risk to life and limb to both protesters and police? Unless I hear a convincing denouncement of this dangerous and violent behavior by Charedi leadership, I expect most in the Charedi community will think that this type of behavior is acceptable as long as they get what they want. To what end?

This is also upsetting:

"The Nazis are coming, run!" was the catchphrase of the night, with haredi youths warning each other in Yiddish of advancing police officers trying to restore order to central Jerusalem.

...On Friday posters were hung in a number of synagogues around the capital with harsh invectives aimed at Franco. One slogan charged that he was the grandson of notorious SS officer in Treblinka Franz Stangl. Police said they viewed the offenses with severity and opened an investigation into the matter. Maj. Gen. Franco addressed the issue: "I see it as worthy only of my contempt. We won't be intimidated, we will do our job with integrity devoid of corruption. Speaking of things one Jew does not do to his fellow Jew, then this is one of the things."

Sick. Is it suddenly OK for Charedi Jews to invoke the Nazis when showing contempt for their fellow Jew? More so than when another group does it? Are we somehow supposed to think that it is justified - because the police are doing their job in the face of an extremely violent and dangerous situation? And I can't wait to hear the charges of police brutality from the Charedi community. They want to avoid a firm, decisive, and potentially injurious reaction from local law enforcement? It's simple. Don't commit arson, throw stones, and wreck police cars.

UPDATE: The Yeshiva World tells us that the Badatz has called for a halt in protests until the Police make a decision on whether the parade is to go on.