Jerusalem – The protest against gender-segregated bus lines stepped up. Dozens of protesters, mainly women, rode en masse on buses labeled ‘mehadrin lines’ in Jerusalem in which women must sit at the back of bus out for modesty reasons.
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Under the banner “Free transportation day – putting an end to discrimination in public spaces,” the protesters flocked early in the morning on Sunday to ‘mehadrin line’ bus stops. When the buses arrived, they sat in the men’s section at the front of the bus.
The protesters, among them members of city council Laura Wharton and Rachel Azaria, wore red bracelets on their wrists as a sign of their protest and distributed to the passengers information booklets against the controversial separation between the sexes.
“We are acting as responsibly as possible. We instructed all our male and female activists to act respectfully and to dress appropriately,” said Ella (Academia without Harassment) Spokesperson Shiran Dadon. “We instructed all of our activists not to sit next to bachelor yeshiva students and for men not to sit next to women out of respect of their desire not to come in physical contact with the opposite sex.”
“We are not fighting against the haredi community or against Jewish religion, but against the scheme ‘to hide’ women under the robe of ‘modesty.’ We act with the most possible sensitivity, but also with the necessary determination in order to fight against the severe physical and verbal shows of violence that women are subjected to on these bus lines on a daily basis,” explained Dadon.
Contrary to expectations, the protest did not provoke a violent response from the haredi public. Except a few shouts and threatening glares, no ultra-Orthodox passenger tried to forcibly block the women from sitting at the front of the bus.
On one of the buses, a haredi passenger approached the driver to complain about the women sitting in the men’s section of the bus, asking that the driver instruct her to move to the back. The driver ignored the request and kept on driving.
The ‘mehadrin lines’ started running a number of years ago in response to demands made by the haredi population. The Egged bus company responded to the request and has ever since operated a number of such lines in Jerusalem. The bus lines very quickly became a new source of friction between seculars and haredim.
In recent months, there have been an increasing number of reports of violence against secular people, mostly women, who rode on the ‘mehadrin lines’ and refused to sit at the back of the bus.
The fight against ‘mehadrin lines’ was initiated some two years ago when the Reform movement’s Israel Religious Action Center petitioned the Supreme Court to shut down the lines. Public protest against the lines has recently been renewed following the convening of a special committee within the Transportation Ministry slated to discuss legalizing segregated bus lines.
Keep mehadrin buses running using a privately funded bus line. It will be profitable to them and the protestors have no say. As for the concept in general … You have to live the life to get it
All this in the holy land before rosh hashanah . These same people don’t understand protests for shabbos either , shame on you isreal men hut derlebt . These few echteh temimesdikeh yidden they don’t let live . Nothing wrong with some tznius.
Those who chose to use mixed buses, have the option to use the mixed lines. Those who want mehadrin lines, are using the seperate seating mehadrin buses.
It’s a free country, why protest? let every invidual choose their own option.
As chassidic lady I applaud to them, they are 100% right.
Maybe the haredi could learn something from these people about how to conduct a peaceful protest.
I don’t understand some comments over here, its disgusting, ” chassidic european” you are no way chassidic, those woman have an option if they want, there are mixed lines that go the same route, from where does a woman who has any connection to judiasm take the chutzpah to get in the way of people who want to live a more sheltered life, those woman are ‘choita emachtie’ the yidin who try to protect their young of seeing things they should not, what a shame.
here is the idea: When the Chareidim go properly through the system – due process -and get the law on their side, as in this case, let’s trample on them and call them all sorts of names, because we disagree with them. Then, when they see that the “system” doesn’t work for what they they want, and, out of sheer frustration, take matters into their own hands, let’s scream and yell for them to stop being so discordant and just use due process.
If it sounds hipocrytical to you, you are apparently of the few people who still know how to think.
Hashem should protect the Jewish People from such evil!
First of all, a number of the segregated bus line replaced the regular ones. for any number of years, all sorts of people, including Chassidim, rode mixed bus lines; now all of a sudden, there is an issur. There is no reason for the State to subsidize segregated bus lines. Start a private one if you want–and subsidize it by charging the appropriate fee. do no ask the rext of the tzibur to subsidize your minhagim.
perhaps this can be solved if the men were all supposed yo go to the back of the bus instead
Egged should do tshuva on Rosh Hashana for imposing such such barbaric regulations in a modern society. And it was all done for money.
The Nazis had/have a religion of there own: Jews are unclean and are a threat to all descent people, therfore they should be forbidden to travel by bus or otherwise mingel with pure and clean people! Does that sound OK för segretionists?
This protest is a pure feminist attack on freedom of choice.
The current situation allows for the most choice. Those that don’t want to be segregated can travel on the regular bus lines. Those that prefer the mehadrin lines, can choose them freely.
This is the usual feminist Leftists trying to impose their will on the public.
It is all about money. If the people who dafke use these buses not just in Israel but also in the US would have to pay full price, because all these buses are subsidised by the government, a lot of them would not care anymore to sit next to a shicksa or ride on a bus with no mechitsa. And to those who are atacking this european lady let me tell you one thing. In all the years that I travel on mechitsa or seperated buses I have never heard a lady complain about the mechitsa not being up or any other so called untzius act in the bus. Its always the men. Obviously there is something wrong with the men who can’t keep their machshoves clean when they see a shaitel in front of them. Oy.
ye, i agree. the state should not have to subsidize for peoples personal shtick. and half these people are probabally anti tzionim but still expect the state to make mehadrin public transportation for them. Also, the men should sit in the back of the bus if they want segregation, and let the women sit in the front.
The feminists strike again. What’s wrong with having free choice for everyone? Those that don’t care about the separation can ride on mixed buses. The ones who care can ride on the mehadrin buses.
Why do these feminist agitators have to force their politics on everyone?
I wouldn’t call myself a feminist and certainly not secular, the segregated buses get me very upset, brings up reminders of Jim Crow laws. The back of the bus is not the same as the front, being in the back has all the connotations of being second class, which is not supposed to be the case in Torah Judaism. I would only be mollified if it was made to be left-right. Even putting the men in the back, which would make me feel a little better also puts men down and I don’t want to do that either.
As far as riding a different bus on the same route – who in their right mind would want to wait, if it was immediately behind that is different, but that is virtually never the case.
All this in the holy land before rosh hashanah . These same people don’t understand protests for shabbos either , shame on you isreal men hut derlebt . These few echteh temimesdikeh yidden they don’t let live . Nothing wrong with some tznius.
I’m all for separate seating, but not for unfair seating. The only problem I have is that the women have to sit “at the back of the bus.” I think that its degrading and offensive. I’m male and if someone told me to move to the back I’d respond colorfully. Perhaps restricting each gender to one side would be more rational.
I commen these women for having a peaceful protest. And think that the buses should not be segregated. It just makes more problems.
The law is that this bus be seperate. Anyone who has a problem with that should go to court, not disobey the law, no?
The Monsey bus has women on one side and men on the other.. that’s more OK .. but women should not go to the back like second class citizens
I live in Williamsburg and am a Chassidishe woman. I agree with all those who say that if you want it segregated then do it equally. Do women on one side and men on the other. If you want to do one in front and one in back then do it with common sense. Women are the ones pregnant and are usually the ones carrying strollers and babies so it only makes sense that they should be in front.
Therefore, if you do men in front and women in back it totally stinks of Oppression. If you want to do it for the sake of Torah then do it in a Torah manner with compassion and sensibility.
The next chumra is a mechitza under the chupa.
I travel to Israel often and stay in Jerusalem. On ALL the busses I ride on I notice that women NEVER take an empty seat next to a Chareidi man, regardless of her frumkeit. Women are VERY careful to respect the Chareidi point of view.
Secondly, I personally have no problem with the seperate seating busses. If I do not wish to sit in the back, and it personally does not bother me (and I am NOT chareidi), then I wait for another bus. (when I am with my husband and we wish to sit together).
However, there are many intracity busses, ie: Jerusalem to Petach Tikva, Jerusalem to Haifa that are direct and are separate seating, and there are LESS seats for women than for men. The women are usually traveling with kids and need more seats then the men. If you take the regular busses, you have to change at least once, and often twice. That is why non-Chareidi women take these busses.
It is not only the seats are separate, but you are often spoken to, in an impolite manor, if your dress is not “up to code” THAT I find offensive.
I simply do not understand, this lack of courtesy and kindness !!
Personally I think the separate busses are little bit silly, but I think these women are even sillier. They are totally missing the point when they say it’s about discrimination and so are all of you who are complaining about the women being the back. Why does the back mean less? It sounds like a grade school concept. The point is that the men don’t want to have to look at the women, whether you agree with it or not. It has nothing to do with looking down on women.
My only complaint is that they don’t make it easier for the women to pay. I took the bus from y-m to Beitar last week and the driver opened the back door to let me on. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to go up to the front to pay. Later on, a women got on the bus with a stroller. She had to fold up the stroller and have someone hold her baby while she went up to the front to pay, all the while getting thrown all over the place while the bus driver was driving like a maniac.
Anyway like I said, I don’t necessarily agree with separate seating, but I think the women who protest so vehemently have their own issues.
well im sure they enjoyed the ride with nobody stareing them up and down no phisycill harassmnt no violence just a pity they were dressed so disgusting
chazal say mei’achorey ari velo machoirey isha.
btw berel keep up the good work, one of the only torahdiger posters here.