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Proclamations From the Walls of Jerusalem
From: Columbia University
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 he exhibit "Kruzim: Proclamations From the Walls of Jerusalem" (www.jtsa.edu/library/exhib/broadsid/index.shtml),
sponsored by the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, features a series of posters that provide a fascinating glimpse of Jewish life in Jerusalem during the British Mandate. Known in Hebrew as kruzim, these documents are broadsides, single sheets of paper printed on one side and intended for mass distribution. Produced by religious authorities and local merchants, they were plastered on the walls of the city to inform the public about religious rulings and to advertise newly available merchandise. Drawn from the library's extensive collection, these broadsides shed light on the religious, political and economic climate of the Jews of Jerusalem in the first half of the twentieth century. |
At the time, more and more Zionist settlers were arriving from Europe. These newcomers were establishing
a modern and secular community in Jerusalem, and this led to conflicts with pre-Zionist Jewish residents, who insisted on strict religious standards. The tensions between the tradition-bound old community and the more modern Zionist residents is evident in many of the broadsides exhibited here. |
One poster from the 1920s rails against Jews who played soccer on the Sabbath. "My heart is breaking upon hearing of the obstinacy of the promiscuous youth of our nation who ... repeatedly wallow in their vomit to desecrate the sanctity of the Sabbath by playing soccer brazenly and publicly," reads one message by a prominent rabbi at the time. In a message from 1930, the Ashkenazic Rabbinical Court announces that the Jews of Jerusalem have been granted permission to benefit from electricity on the Sabbath. |
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