Saturday, November 14, 2009

Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem have protested outside the offices of Intel against the plant operating on the Jewish day of rest

The demonstrators chanted "Shabbes! Shabbes!", the Yiddish word for Sabbath when Jews are forbidden to work. Intel, the world's biggest maker of computer chips, ringed its offices with barbed wire before the protest. Ultra-Orthodox Jews have recently held a series of such protests in Israel. More than 1,000 people took part in Saturday's rally. It was staged after talks between Intel and Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community broke down. Intel has been operating on Saturdays for years - and the company defends the policy. Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews have become increasingly militant in recent months in their attempts to enforce a Saturday work ban. They have held regular protests against the opening of a Jerusalem car park on the Jewish Sabbath.

No comments: