Sweeping Prohibition of Demonstrations in Jerusalem’s Central Squares Is Illegal

Demo in Jerusalem, July 2011. CC-BY-NC-SA Simply Boaz

Following the sweeping refusal of the Jerusalem police to approve demonstrations in two of the city’s main squares – Paris Square and Zion Square – ACRI sent a letter to the police, warning that the refusal to approve the demonstrations on the grounds that “the public has had enough of the demonstrations” is illegal. Should the police uphold its refusal, ACRI intends to file a petition to the High Court of Justice.
 
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) sent a letter on Monday (May 28) to the Jerusalem police, asking it to act urgently in order to approve a social justice demonstration that is planned to take place at Paris Square in the center of Jerusalem (near the Prime Minister’s residence) this coming Saturday evening. The demonstration’s organizers are currently holding intensive negotiations with the police to approve the protest. A meeting with the Jerusalem District Commander is scheduled for today (May 30), after which the demonstrators and ACRI will decide whether to file a petition to the High Court of Justice.
 
The demonstration’s organizers, social justice activists, turned to the police two weeks ago requesting to receive a permit for this event. After some stalling, the demonstrators were told that they cannot hold the protest in Zion Square, because of its proximity to the Light Railway’s route, nor in Paris Square because “the Jerusalem public has had enough of road blockages for demonstrations.” Later on, the police conditioned the permit on this being the last demonstration for this summer (in Paris Square or in Zion Square), a commitment that the activists cannot and do not want to make (indeed – a commitment that they should not have been required to make as a police condition for obtaining a permit).
 
It should be noted that the two aforementioned squares have been, for decades, the main locations for public demonstrations in Jerusalem. In that sense the police’s position, if accepted, would enforce a dramatic negative change in the public’s right to demonstrate in the very center of Jerusalem.
 
According to ACRI attorney Sharona Eliahu-Chai, “under the restrictions presented by the Jerusalem police, there is no possibility at all to hold mass demonstrations in the city’s central squares. This sweeping policy does not abide by the constitutional status of the right to demonstrate and clearly contradicts court rulings, which required maintaining a balance between the right to protest and temporary and specific disturbances to traffic. If the need arises, we will again turn – as we did before – to the court, in order for it to obligate the police to protect freedom of expression in Jerusalem.”
 
 
Click here for ACRI’s full letter (in Hebrew)