Mayor Nir Barkat of Jerusalem said Sunday afternoon action must be taken to relax tensions and restore quiet to Jerusalem, in the wake of demonstrations by the hareidi-religious community on Shabbat in protest of the Intel corporation's operations on the Sabbath at its plant in the city's Har Hotzvim industrial park.
Speaking at the dedication of a new Intel facility, the mayor noted that the Shabbat operation was part of the company's 24-year history in Jerusalem, and cited Intel for compromises in consideration of the hareidi community's wishes. He welcomed dialogue, condemned violence, which he said would achieve nothing, and expressed hope that the sides would come to understandings on the matter.