Bar-Ilan Street

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Bar-Ilan Street is a section of Route 417 between Yirmiyahu Street and Hativat HarEl Street in northern Jerusalem. It is a major artery that runs through a heavily Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood.[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E4D81E39F936A25754C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Jerusalem Road Is Secular-Religious Battleground]

Bar-Ilan Street became a symbol of the battle between secular Jews and Haredi residents of the neighborhood who wanted the street closed to vehicular traffic on Shabbat. 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.[http://www.pij.org/details.php?id=655 The Third Jerusalem: The Ultra-Orthodox Dimension] In 1996, the Israeli Supreme Court was asked to decide whether the street would be open or closed.[https://books.google.com/books?id=hhFmHbb9hKAC&dq=bar+ilan+street+jerusalem&pg=PA155 Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, Volume 50, ed. Austin Sarat]

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.[http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/11182/religious-secular-strife-awaits-barak-as-he-returns-home/ Religious-secular strife awaits Barak as he returns home]

In more recent years, certain elements of the Haredi population have protested the proposed expansion of the Jerusalem light rail to Bar Ilan Steet, often blocking traffic and damaging property.{{cite news |date= 26 July 2022|title= Extremists riot against expansion of Jerusalem light rail into Haredi neighborhoods|url= https://www.timesofisrael.com/haredi-extremists-block-roads-mar-property-in-latest-riot-at-jerusalem-light-rail/|work= Times of Israel |access-date=12 February 2025}}{{cite news |date= 24 August 2021|title= 300 ultra-Orthodox Jews block Bar-Ilan junction to protest light rail |url= https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/300-ultra-orthodox-jews-block-bar-ilan-junction-to-protest-light-rail-677617 |work= Jerusalem Post |access-date=12 February 2025}}