Birds & Trees, Poles & String.(London's eruv )(Brief Article)

Forget al Qaeda or Iraq. In the leafy and luxurious suburbs of North London, the big controversy involves a loop of nylon and some poles. Since 1992, residents of the borough of Barnet have debated whether to build an eruv, some 200 of which exist worldwide from Venice to St. Louis. Within the boundaries of these eruvim, Orthodox Jews are freed from adhering to the more extreme restrictions of their traditional Sabbath--such as a ban on carrying medications or keys outside the home, or using a baby stroller or wheelchair.

If that sounds innocuous enough, think again. London's eruv will amount to no more than 84 boundary poles ranged around an 11-mile perimeter. But it's been debated with all the passion and precision of Talmudic scholarship. Secular and Orthodox Jews have faced off in fury. Nonreligious Jews argue that the nylon-string-and-pole boundary symbolically separates Jews from other Britons. Environmentalists and homeowners have battled against multiculturalists and synagogue committees. There have been community meetings, newspaper editorials, muttered threats of vandalism. Anti-eruvists object that the poles block house facades or might disrupt traffic, or possibly bird- migration patterns. Those in favor argue it would make life easier for some of the 10,000 Orthodox who live in Barnet.

Late last month the Barnet Council approved the plan (after agreeing to change the color of the poles from sage green to goose-wing gray) and workmen busied themselves putting up the eruv. End of story? Not quite. Members of the Forum Against Intrusive Eruvs claim the installations are illegal. There's speculation that some in ...