10.06.2011                      8.Siwan, 5771                      Isru Chag

Jerusalem:

Jerusalem Old City's Jewish Quarter almost entirely Haredi, study finds

Neighborhood has resumed the ultra-Orthodox character it had before the 1948 War of Independence.

Prof. Daniel Sperber, a resident of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City and an Israel Prize laureate in Jewish studies, has noticed a demographic and sociological change in the Jewish Quarter over time, from a diverse neighborhood of secular, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jews to one that is almost entirely Haredi (ultra-Orthodox ).
Sperber also serves as a rabbi of the neighborhood's Menachem Zion synagogue, a congregation he describes as "a nature reserve" for religious Zionists. "Once the synagogue was crammed full," he said. "Now, unfortunately, there are a lot of empty seats."…