Hareidi-religious community leaders in Jerusalem are hoping a private security company can put an end to a wave of thefts targeting hareidi families on the Sabbath.
Hareidi families do not report thefts to police during the Sabbath due to a prohibition on creative labor that is not necessary for the sake of guarding human life. Victims of theft are concerned that reporting would mean Jewish police would need to drive to their area and write up a statement during the holy day.
Instead, leaders have turned to a non-Jewish security firm that will provide guards in hareidi neighborhoods.
In a letter to residents, neighborhood rabbis wrote, “Because the increasing number of thefts in our neighborhood has become unbearable, and the cries of residents whose belongings were taken have reached us, we intend to ‘remove the evil from our midst’ immediately with help from outside sources with expertise in this area.”
“We hope the private security firm will bring a solution,” said Ezra Berger, a community administrator for the hareidi neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo in Jerusalem.