Ashdod, Israel - A brawl between rival ultra-Orthodox Jewish sects in Ashdod, Israel, has resulted in four arrests, officials said.
Police said a fight broke out Saturday night between 500 rival Ashkenazi and Sephardic sect members in the city's Zayin quarter, Ynetnews.com reported.
The Web site said the brawl was triggered when Ashkenazim claimed that Sephardic religious school dropouts were wandering the streets in violation of the Shabbat, thereby insulting the haredi, or ultra-Orthodox people, living in the neighborhood.
Ynetnews.com said four people had been arrested in the fight and had been brought in for questioning. Neighborhood residents told the Web site that pamphlets were handed out in synagogue Saturday calling on Ashkenazi haredim to protest the situation.
"They planned on making provocations ahead of time, to rile things up and cause the police to come, so they would ultimately attack us," Danielle Moyal, a Sephardic resident of the neighborhood, told Ynetnews.com.