Jewish Israeli stone throwing refers to 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 Groups of young Jews then took to the streets and started stoning police foot patrols, which were then withdrawn from the city.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.Four Jews Killed, Many Injured when British Police Riot in Tel Aviv 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,P.R. Kumaraswamy, The A to Z of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Scarecrow Press, 2009 p.69 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.'The Historiography of Deir Yassin,' Benny Morris, Journal of Israeli History: Politics, Society, Culture, Volume 24, Issue 1, 2005 pgs. 79-107
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.Convoy of 35 - Battle of Despair, Uri Milstein)
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.Nachman Ben-Yehuda, Theocratic Democracy: The Social Construction of Religious and Secular Extremism, Oxford University Press,2010 pp.67-68.
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.Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2009, Government Printing Office, U.S. Department of State, October 2012-
Throwing stones at cars operated in violation of the Jewish Sabbath is practiced among the Haredi community of Jews, such as the Hasidic community.Samuel C. Heilman, Defenders of the Faith: Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewry, University of California Press, 1992 p.99: ‘The American ultra-Orthodox Jews who would do battle with those who did not observe Sabbath, who wanted to throw a stone against its desecrators, got on a plane and threw their stone here in Jerusalem. In America, haredim –such as they were-limited their struggles with modernity to intramural jousting with other Jews.’W. Gordon Lawrence, Tongued with Fire: Groups in Experience, Karnac Books, 2000 p.83;’To drive on a Sunday afternoon through parts of Jerusalem, where the extremist Israelis are waiting with stones to throw at cars with West Bank number plates, is to experience the fear of becoming a victim of the mob’ At the request of the Jerusalem police, the practice was halted during the First Intifada.Jonathan Boyarin, Palestine and Jewish History: Criticism at the Borders of Ethnography, University of Minnesota Press 1996 p.198. 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,Nora L. Rubel, Doubting the Devout: The Ultra-Orthodox in the Jewish American Imagination, Columbia University Press, 2013 p.98. 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,Tia Goldenberg, 'Women Of The Wall Attacked By Ultra-Orthodox Haredim While Praying At Western Wall' Huffington Post 13 May 2013 as have demonstrators for gay rights.Rory McCarthy, 'Violence from ultra-orthodox Jews may halt gay march in Jerusalem,' The Guardian 6 November 2006. 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.Oz Rosenberg,'Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters block roads, throw stones in Beit Shemesh,' Haaretz 15 January 2012.'Haredim throw stones, smash windows of bus in Bet Shemesh,' Jerusalem Post 31 July 2013. Palestinians in Shuafat's refugee camp have been targeted by Haredim from Ramat Shlomo.Noam (Dabul) Dvir, Ultra-Orthodox from Ramat Shlomo throw stones at Palestinian homes in refugee camp; three arrested,' Ynet I September 2012. 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.Lev Luis Grinberg, Politics and Violence in Israel/Palestine: Democracy Versus Military Rule, Routledge, 2009 pp.155ff.The Or Inquiry - Summary of Events, Haaretz Nov. 19, 2001Adam LeBor, City of Oranges: Arabs and Jews in Jaffa, A&C Black 2007 pp.276-278:'The mob pelted passing cars with stones. Windows and windscreens scattered, scattering glass across the road... The rioters blocked off the Yaffet street and fought with police, hurling stones and bricks... Just as in 1921 and 1936, the Arab riots provoked Jewish counter attacks... the Jewish community activist: They (Arabs) said this exploded because they are treated badly. I asked them what the connection was, to make intifada in Jaffa? ... why are you making a pogrom against me as a Jew?'
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.Nachman Ben-Yehuda, Theocratic Democracy: The Social Construction of Religious and Secular Extremism, Oxford University Press,2010 p.152 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.
Since several years prior to 2012, it became "commonplace" to throw stones at drivers violating what the stone-throwers regard as the sanctity of the holy day by driving on Hebron Road in Jerusalem on Yom Kippur eve, following the conclusion of prayer services.
By settlers Although there have been a number of instances of settlers throwing stones at Palestinians, settlers have also been known to throw stones at the Israel army. According to Daniel Byman, throwing stones at Palestinian cars is one of several violent techniques used by settlers to pressure the government not to crack down on extremists in their ranks.Daniel Byman, A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism, Oxford University press 2011 p.290.
The similarities between settler and Palestinian stone throwing have produce different responses from the IDF. According to B'Tselem, in Hebron where stone throwing is frequent,'Hebron city center', B'Tselem 15 October 2007 when settler youths stone both Palestinians or Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), the IDF is said to respond to complaints by saying that the stone-throwers are 'only kids', and arrests or interventions are rare. When Hebron Palestinian youths throw stones, the same units do not hesitate to arrest the culprits and blame their parents.Ron Dudai, Free Rein:Vigilante Settlers and Israel's Non-Enforcement of the Law, B'Tselem October 2001 pp.15-17Karin Aggestam, 'TIPH:Preventing Conflict Escalation in Hebron?', in Clive Jones, Ami Pedahzur, (eds.) Between Terrorism and Civil War: The Al-Aqsa Intifada, Routledge 2005 p.22, pp.51-69 p.59. Settlers are known to set ambushes and throw rocks at cars with Palestinian number plates, according to Neve Gordon, in order to terrorize them into not resisting their dispossession or to “persuade” them to leave certain areas.Neve Gordon, Israel's Occupation, University of California Press, 2008 p.142 Yitzhar youths have stoned police cars entering their settlement.Moriel Ram, Mark LeVine, 'The Village Against the Settlement: Two Generations of Conflict in the Nablus Region,' in Mark Andrew LeVine, Gershon Shafir,(eds.) Struggle and Survival in Palestine/Israel, University of California Press, 2012 p.325.