Rabbis in the hareidi-religious community in Jerusalem have
called for a boycott of the mall in the neighborhood of Ramot. The rabbis are
hoping that hareidi purchasing power will induce mall managers to change the
rules regarding modesty at the site.
The rabbis published an announcement in local synagogues.
“Two years ago a mall opened in our neighborhood,” they
wrote. “At that point the managers of the mall promised us that the mall would
be suited to residents, and would respect their lifestyle and not cause
offense.”
“This agreement was never fully fulfilled, and over time the
promise has been violated in various ways, as whoever has been there can
testify,” they accused.
“Slowly, the impression has grown that there is no real
desire on their end to uphold the agreement, except maybe to avoid tension with
the hareidi community,” they continued. Mall managers “are trying to push it as
far as they can,” they added.
“We do not want a war,” the rabbis declared. “On the
contrary. But now we find ourselves with no other choice.”
They called on residents to use the mall only when
necessary, giving the example of visiting the bank in the mall or the pharmacy,
but not to visit other stores.
While the letter did not state the precise allegations
against the mall, a local report linked the boycott to stores' use of scantily
clad mannequins in store windows and billboards. All the eating facilities in
the mall have stringent mehadrin kashrut and the supermarkets cater to hareidi
shoppers.
No comments:
Post a Comment