Bar-Ilan Street

Bar-Ilan was an early test case of government policy on issues of religion and state, pitting Orthodox sensibilities against secular demands for personal freedom.

[3] For over a decade, Haredi residents organized Shabbat demonstrations on Bar-Ilan Street.

The protests were held despite an arrangement, endorsed by the Israeli Supreme Court, in which the artery, which runs through the north of the capital, is shut to traffic during Sabbath services and opened at other times.

The demonstrations often turned violent, resulting in arrests for throwing rocks at passing cars and assaulting police.

[4] In more recent years, certain elements of the Haredi population have protested the proposed expantion of the Jerusalem light rail to Bar Ilan Steet, often blocking traffic and damaging property.