Jewish Israeli stone-throwing refers to criminal rock-throwing activity by Jewish Israelis in Mandatory Palestine, Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. It includes material about internecine stone-throwing, in which Haredi Jews throw stones at other Jews as a protest against what they view as violations of religious laws concerning Shabbat, modest clothing for women and similar issues, and material about stone-throwing by extremists in the settler movement.
Historical incidents
Following The Sergeants affair, on the evening of 31 July 1947, groups of British policemen and soldiers went on the rampage in Tel Aviv, breaking the windows of shops and buses, overturning cars, stealing a taxi and assaulting members of the Jewish community. Groups of young Jews then took to the streets and started stoning police foot patrols, which were then withdrawn from the city. On learning of the stonings, without waiting for orders, members of mobile police units temporarily based at the Citrus House security compound drove into Tel Aviv in six armoured vehicles. These policemen opened fire on two buses, killing one Jew and injuring three others on the first bus and killing three more Jews on the second. Policemen also beat passersby, smashed shop windows, and raided two cafés, detonating a grenade in one of them. In one café, they attempted to abduct a Jew, and were beaten back by the patrons. Five Jews were killed and 15 injured.
In the aftermath of the Deir Yassin massacre of 1948, carried out by the Irgun and Lehi militias, in which an estimated 107 Palestinian villagers and 13 fighters were killed, and which followed the Yishuv's attempts to relieve the blockade of Jerusalem by Palestinian Arab forces during the civil war that preceded the end of British rule in Palestine, Palestinian survivors were loaded into trucks and then paraded through West Jerusalem while Jews spat at them and threw stones at them.
In accounts of the battle leading to the death of the Convoy of 35 in January 1948, one of the Jewish fighters is described as fighting until his ammunition runs out and then throwing rocks at the attacking Arab force. All 35 members of the convoy perished in battle.
Haredi incidents
Haredi attacks against property, involving both stone-throwing, vandalism and arson at bus stops, broke out in 1985-1986 to protest posters showing what they regarded as immodest women.
Jewish Orthodox Israelis threw stones at passing cars throughout 2009 to protest infractions of the Sabbath. Large scale protests broke out, involving stone-throwing in June and July in response to the opening of a car park near the Old Quarter of Jerusalem. On 9 August, the Jerusalem city mayor Nir Barkat was stoned by dozens of Haredi demonstrators who held him responsible for the car park's opening.
Throwing stones at cars operated in violation of the Jewish Sabbath is practiced among the Haredi community of Jews, such as the Hasidic community. At the request of the Jerusalem police, the practice was halted during the First Intifada. Israeli police have also had stones thrown at them in protest for the operation of commercial establishments on Saturday. In Mea Shearim, women who sport ‘immodest dress’ have often been subject to stoning, though this has also been reported in Beit Shemesh. Members of the Women of the Wall, a protest group advocating for women's rights to pray at the Western Wall, have also been subject to stoning by the Haredim, as have demonstrators for gay rights. Sometimes, the Haredi stone-throwing has a political nature, as in protesting the arrest of prominent members of the community arrested on suspicion of things like money-laundering and tax fraud. Palestinians in Shuafat's refugee camp have been targeted Haredim from Ramat Shlomo. In October 2000, in the wake of demonstrations and rioting by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians that included stone-throwing, the Hassan Bek Mosque in Jaffa was stoned by Jews, who tried to set it on fire.
Haredi Jewish stone-throwing has also taken place to protest army recruitment and archaeological research. It is often carried out by Haredi Jews who believe a particular neighborhood or town belongs to them and wish to police it from any opposition. The activity among Israel's Haredi circles has been documented in Jerusalem since the early 1970s. According to a Hiddush spokesman, Haredi violence (including stone-throwing) in Haredi-dominated neighbourhoods such as Mea Shearim has evolved from religious struggles to the mere entrance of government agencies or service providers.