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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Reform synagogue in Ramat Hasharon whose window was shattered when a rock was thrown at it. (Photo by Karin Magen)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThis wasn\u2019t children playing and a stone accidentally being thrown,\u201d Levin told JTA.<\/p>\n
The incident came just over a week after vandals broke into Kol HaNeshama, a prominent Reform synagogue in Jerusalem\u2019s Baka neighborhood. In that occurrence, a group of youths smashed a window, entered the prayer hall, damaged artwork and tore down Pride flags displayed by the congregation. No worshippers were present at the time. Police opened an investigation but have not publicly announced any arrests.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe smashing of the windows tonight at the Reform synagogue in the city is a serious act of vandalism and we will not let it pass without response,\u201d Rochberger said, calling on police to thoroughly investigate the attack and bring those responsible to justice.<\/p>\n
He added that Ramat Hasharon was committed to \u201cfreedom, tolerance, pluralism and coexistence\u201d between religious and secular residents and said the city would not allow extremists to intimidate residents or damage the fabric of communal life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will stand together against any attempt to harm the character of Ramat Hasharon and the values \u200b\u200bon which it is founded,\u201d Rochberger said.<\/p>\n
Democrats MK Gilad Kariv, a Reform rabbi who previously headed Israel\u2019s Reform movement, linked the attack to recent violence against Reform congregations, businesses operating on Shabbat and anti-government protesters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will smash and break \u2013 we will repair and build,\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n
Darchei Noam was founded in Ramat Hasharon in 1981 and serves residents of that city, Herzliya and northern Tel Aviv. The congregation holds egalitarian services in which women and men participate equally and also runs educational programs, bar and bat mitzvah preparation and community volunteer activities, according to its website.<\/p>\n
The congregation spent years fighting for the right to build a permanent synagogue. After the municipality declined to allocate land to a non-Orthodox congregation, the dispute ultimately reached Israel\u2019s High Court of Justice, which ruled that the community could receive a plot.<\/p>\n
Darchei Noam said it would hold its regular Friday night service as planned and called on supporters to attend in a show of solidarity following the attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue and we will not be deterred,\u201d Levin said. \u201cWe will continue to hold egalitarian ceremonies and celebrate the holidays in our Jewish-Israeli way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The incident came as Ramat Hasharon and nearby Herzliya have been locked in disputes over businesses operating on Shabbat. In June, a Tel Aviv court dismissed a petition seeking to force the Ramat Hasharon municipality to enforce its existing Shabbat closure bylaw at the BIG Fashion Glilot shopping complex after the city pledged to apply the law under a new enforcement policy.<\/p>\n
The municipality has simultaneously sought Interior Ministry approval to amend the decades-old bylaw to permit businesses to open on Saturdays in designated areas. Rochberger has repeatedly defended that effort, saying Ramat Hasharon should remain pluralistic and protect both freedom of religion and freedom from religion.<\/p>\n
Just a few hundred meters away from the synagogue, businesses in the Neve Israel neighborhood of Herzliya have repeatedly been vandalized after opening on Shabbat. The local Othello ice cream shop was attacked three times before its owners stopped opening on Saturdays, citing safety concerns, while the windows of the nearby Pasta Basta restaurant were smashed in late July. Pasta Basta continued operating on Shabbat.<\/p>\n
Herzliya Mayor Yariv Fisher has urged residents to support businesses that remained open on Saturdays.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will only spur me to keep working day and night to ensure that Herzliya remains a beacon of liberalism,\u201d Fisher wrote on Facebook. \u201cI invite the public to support all the city\u2019s restaurants, entertainment businesses and cafes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jerusalem has seen a parallel fight over Shabbat commerce in recent weeks. Cafe Basimta, near the Mahane Yehuda market, has faced weekly demonstrations by haredi Orthodox protesters since early July over its decision to remain open on Saturdays. Police have been deployed repeatedly at the site as protesters and counterprotesters faced off. A 75-year-old woman was arrested this month on suspicion of repeatedly vandalizing the cafe by damaging its lock and throwing garbage at the premises.<\/p>\n