Kiryat Gat, Israel – Teachers and students of the Rabin High School in the southern city of Kiryat Gat are being forced to enter the building through a side gate “for modesty reasons”.
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According to the Israel Teachers Union, a security guard stationed at the school’s main entrance has been instructed by the municipality to lock the gate and inform visitors that they must enter the institution from its side gate.
Female teachers say they were told the main entrance is not safe, but they believe the real reason is pressures exerted by ultra-Orthodox elements.
“The haredi institution appealed to the mayor and demanded that we would not be allowed to enter, as the staff at the haredi school, which is located opposite the entrance, does not feel comfortable seeing women in immodest clothing,” one of the teachers said.
She and her colleagues claimed that Mayor Aviram Dahari caved in to pressures exerted by ultra-Orthodox elements in the City Council. “It happens every few years, but so far we have held battles and succeeded,” she said. “But they have caused him to give in.”
The high school was built 16 years ago, and its name was changed after former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination. Several years ago, the haredi community began setting up caravans opposite its main entrance in favor of an ultra-Orthodox educational institution called Slonim.
“On the second year of their activity they demanded that the main entrance of the secular school be removed to a difference place,” one of the teachers said. “Now they have found an excuse: The entrance is in a place which is not safe for the students.”
According to teachers, the claims that the entrance is unsafe are groundless. “This is nonsense,” one of the instructors said. “This is their attempt to take over the city, and we won’t let it happen.”
The Rabin school’s teaching staff asked representatives of the Teachers Union to intervene. Yaffa Ben Shalom, the Teachers Union’s secretary, expressed her anger over the municipality’s conduct.
“This time they have managed to defeat Dahari,” she said. “This is simply impossible. We informed the teachers that they would enter the school from the main entrance with their head held up high. Otherwise, they won’t teach there at all.”
According to Ben Shalom, the education system cannot be run in such a manner because of a handful of extremists. “I myself am a religious woman. This is not Torah’s way. This is no way to behave. They will not run our education system. They build their school temporarily, while the Rabin school was and will continue to exist there.”
Elements in the municipality told Ben Shalom that the move was an attempt to safeguard the children, but she says this isn’t true.
“It’s wrong to say that this entrance is unsafe. This is a cynical exploitation of the situation, and we won’t let them hurt the teachers’ honor. They will continue entering and leaving proudly,” she stated.
The Slonim School’s principal, Rabbi Meir Erlich, said in response, “I don’t give interviews to the press. All I can say is that the problem involves the entire haredi neighborhood, which is comprised of 300 families.”
The Education Ministry said in response, “We examined the matter with the Kiryat Gat Municipality and were told that the school’s main entrance has been closed and that the school’s visitors have been directed to the side gate for safety reasons. According to the municipality, the traffic route near the school’s main entrance constitutes a safety risk to those visiting the school.”
The Kiryat Gat Municipality has yet to comment on the report.
Its for their safety, for if they don’t enter the school from the side entrance, there will be riots.
This is why seculars resent when chareidim move in – we try to control others. In the end we alienate those we should be mekarev
Do the Slonim staff have such little self control that the mere site of a woman will cause to chas vechalila do an aveyra? Something is very wrong with them.
It is very nice that Chareidi shikunim are sprouting all over Eretz hakodesh. When moving there you must understand you cannot take over by force & force people to change their livestyles, because you got a majority vote, and then drive the minority out. Yes the Torah says Hocheiach Tochiach, but it also says beloshon racko, & Chazal say Ksheim shemitzva Loimar Dovor sheyishma kach mitzva sheloi loimar dovor sheloi yishma.
This attitude & behavior although to protect your own Torah values,causes resentfulness hate & worse between acheinu bnei yisroel, if those border line frum could get put off.
You should have established night programs &youth; events like Rabbi Grossman of Migdal Hoeimek, and be patient some will return to the fold, some tolerate, others leave town, and yes there will be those that stay and fight, but don’t throw the first punch.It could cause irrepairable damage. For what?
This is why secular Israelis do not want hasidim living near them.
The girls should dress tznius then come in in the front.
I hope all teachers and students stay outside the main entrance and wait till it opens.
They should also be ready in case someone throws something at them and teach them a lesson. I think that is the only think these people will understand
Why don’t these chasidim put THEIR entrance on the other side of THEIR building?
…The Slonim School’s principal, Rabbi Meir Erlich, said in response, “I don’t give interviews to the press. All I can say is that the problem involves the entire haredi neighborhood, which is comprised of 300 families.”…
The Slonim School’s principal, Rabbi Meir Erlich, said in response, “I… I… I only work here… umm… umm… It’s not the yeshiva… it’s… it’s 300 families. That’s right! Go talk to them.”
…
I won’t express my opinion on right and wrong (believe me I have one). I will only say stand behind your principles and be willing to take the heat for them. Don’t be groisse tzeleigers then hide behind other people.
The only way to stop this nonsense is to hold try out for Israeli top model right across every yeshiva
What do these people want? They are going to school not to the beach. What could they be wearing that is so terrible?
I can never understand how come only frum chassidim have a problem w/ immodesty?!?!? if u wanna b frum & erlich don’t look! there r plenty chashuve people that walk in the street w/their eyes towards the floor and they never she any immodest things.
This is not about tznius, its about “we have power.”
Anyhow speaking of tznius, do any of you pay attention to what your daughter wears? I have to be a very uncool father and forbid my daughter from wearing the same stuff all the bais yaakov girls are wearing, such as skirts with “JUICY” emblazoned across the Zatz Meer Moichel, or sweatshirts that have it across another inappropriate place…. “Hottie” socks…. Mooreh D’almeh,why does nobody care? Am I crazy?
It could be worse – these girls could try to learn gemora
#18 sweet! Where is this again?
What will they do if there is a fire in the building? Keep the front doors locked like the muttawa did at that school in Saudi Arabia?
What about the Chasidic wives who are dressed to the nines while walking with these 18th Century clad Chasidm? Why is it okay for them to dress sensually?
Might I remind everyone that the secular element did the very same thing to the yaldei teheran. Only there it was worse. They beat little kids and forced them to not be observant at all! My, how we forget our history.
So the secular teachers (or even frum teachers that work there) have to use a side entrance big deal. You can’t force someone to dress modestly, but you can ask and suggest that they don’t parade themselves right in front of your house, shul or yeshiva wearing their immodest attire. Its like a school for white supremacists, where the uniform is a KKK costume, is located right across the street from a school that caters to the black community. I think that one could ask that the offending school use a side entrance.
Now to the argument that they were there first, I can only repeat what the Chazon Ish told Ben-Gurion when they discussed a delicate tznius issue. The rule (Halacha) states that if two people (and their donkeys) reach a narrow pass where only one could make it through at a time, the donkey that has the heavier burden is allowed to pass. We (non-secular) carry the heavier burden as we keep the 613 commandments that were given to us on mount sinai.
Stupid – Stupid – Stupid !
Another of YNET’s trash to get Frum Yidden to appear ridiculous.
I’d rather believe any NY Post, Times etc. before that trashy chareidi-hating paper.
“…we are talking abour people who are medakdek in tznious”
No you are obviously talking about people who are medakdek in abusing women and imposing their nareshkeit on others who want no part of it. Read what you wrote and then think about how you will do tshuvah for slandering klal yisroel.
it is time for all normal people to stand up and say to these jewish talibans ‘enough is enough’
When young women wear immodest clothing during the hot summer months, it unfairly interferes with the rights of the religious women. Our Torah is designed to increase the sensitivity of men, for the benefit of our wives. These young women perhaps might come to appreciate this when they are married and older, and their husband unintentionally sees someone younger (G-F) with less modest clothing.
In the end, the Rabin school will become a Chinuch Atzmai or El HaMaayan school just as was the case when the non-religious schools in Y-m which protested the “charedi takeover” ended up closing due to chiloni flight, low birth rate, and waves of tshuva.
After al lsaid & done, what is this business opening up a Yeshiva oppsite a girls school, & then complaining. You should never have opened up there IMHO.
I think in London where you can’t get any grounds there were 2 stories where Gur had a yeshiva & Belz opened a girls school right there.
Yesodei hatorah’s girls school was built next to Bobov, and they didn’t go down without big fights.
Here it seems the opposite correct me if I am wrong,I feel it is unexcusable, efshar binyan acheir [rosho?].