12 MONTH
CERTIFICATE
two men and three women, and
they have been there every day
for over five years. And people
give to them.
"I don't come often," says Dan-
ny, who traveled from Ashkelon
with his young daughter, "so
whenever I come I give charity."
"Look, it's a mitzvah," says a
tourist couple from South Africa.
"These are poor people," says
David Newman, from Psagot,
near Jerusalem. "Well, yes, they
are [always] the same people,
but they're poor ... Well, yes,
maybe they're not so poor either,
but nevertheless ..."
Menahem Talmor, from Tel
Aviv, found himself being chased
by one of the men. "I gave to one
of them, so this one said, 'What
about me?' This whole thing is
very unpleasant and annoying."
One of the solicitors, who iden-
tified himself as Dovid, is asked
where the contributions go. "For
charity," he says.
What organization? "No orga-
nization."
A guard stationed nearby,
who preferred not to give his
name, says the group has been
there since he began working at
the site five years ago.
"One of them drives here in a
Volvo. I don't know where he
parks it," he says. "For them its
a profession. They are here every
day, from morning to dark. The
other day when there was the
heavy rain, they were here with
umbrellas."
The beggars work persistent-
ly. One of the women actively so-
licits Jewish passers-by, both
tourist and Israeli. After each do-
nation, she deftly places most of
the contribution in her large bag,
leaving only a few coins in the
plastic cup.
The gentile tourists are more
responsive to the soliciting of an
American man dressed up as
King David, who plays a harp
and sings songs in very imper-
fect Hebrew.
Meanwhile Dovid and his col-
league are joined by a third man.
They are talking quietly among
themselves.
"We have another hour until
dark," Dovid says to the new-
comer. "Are you interested in
working or not?"
5.75%
"Let's divide up the money
now," the newcomer says.
"No, not here where everyone
can see us. Let's do it somewhere
else."
Jerusalem district police
spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby
acknowledges that effective steps
are not being taken against the
beggars. But he places the blame
squarely with the Ministry of Re-
ligious Affairs, which is respon-
sible for the Western Wall plaza.
"They hire inspectors who are
responsible for removing these
people from the premises. If they
would be doing their job, we
wouldn't be receiving complaints
about harassment," Mr. Ben-
Ruby says.
Mr. Weiner, the Holy Sites di-
rector, says the ministry hires
guards who are responsible for
maintaining order, including
dealing with beggars. But, he
says, since the guards have lit-
tle authority, the beggars aren't
afraid of them. And that's where
the police are needed.
The beggars
are persistent.
In the past, Mr. Weiner re-
calls, the police would occasion-
ally charge a beggar with
harassment and bring him to
court, but the judge would dis-
miss the case and ask the police
if they didn't have better things
to do with their time.
Mr. Weiner says the Religious
Affairs Ministry takes the issue
very seriously and points out
that he has just submitted a plan
to the ministry's director-gener-
al dealing with an array of prob-
lems related to the holy sites,
including a legal approach on the
issue of beggars.
Starting in February 1997, a
new contractor supplies guards
at the Wall; and with the
changeover, Mr. Weiner says
there will be a crackdown.
For people who want to give
in a reliable way, he adds, there
are charity boxes located at the
entrances to the Western Wall
plaza. These funds are distrib-
uted to recognized organizations
by the ministry. ❑
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