First a Muslim mayor, now a Jewish ghetto? What's going on in London?

'Once the poles are there, they are impossible to find. People don't notice them.'

London has undergone several changes this year, from its nomination to its first Muslim mayor to the introduction of what many believe will lead to the "ghettoisation" of the city - but how and why is this happening?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Jewish community thrives on set rules, some of which are dependent on a series of transparent wires cordoning off sections of their cities.

These established boundaries, known as "eruv," are used during the Sabbath to help Orthodox and conservative Jews better understand where they can conduct certain activities and where they cannot.

With an increasing Jewish population in North London, the use of eruv has become necessary within the community, which local architect Daniel Rosenfelder described as a method of helping people "feel more part of the general community. Once the poles are there, they are impossible to find. People don't notice them."

Rosenfelder is responsible for the proposed 6-mile perimeter to be created in Camden, London, beside a preexisting eruv in Golders Green, Breat Cross and Hendon Way.

To create the eruv, fishing wire would be suspended above the city on a series of poles. Unfortunately for the Jewish community, some have approached the Camden Council to share their concerns.

Critics believe the eruv would lead to the "ghettoisation" of the area, but Rosenfelder believes the lines would do the opposite.

Rosenfelder told the Camden New Journal: "The argument that it will destroy social cohesion - it hasn't happened in any city in the world. If anything it makes people feel more part of the general community."

In accordance to Jewish laws, on the Sabbath, no one can do anything viewed as work. This translates to extreme cases, such as forbidding people from using wheelchairs, carrying babies or even carrying keys outside the home. Cell phones are seen as objects used in the workplace and are therefore prohibited as well.

The eruv would allow people to better understand what areas are considered private and what areas are believed to be public, which would allow certain activities within specific areas that are usually forbidden in public.

Rosenfelder explained: "Sabbath laws are one of the most significant of Jewish religious laws and wherever possible one tries to encourage them to be observed. At the moment some people cannot leave the confines of their home on the Sabbath, especially wheelchair users and mothers with young children. It limits their lives considerably."

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