Jerusalem – Hadassah Margolis, whose daughter was spat on and verbally abused by haredi extremists in Beit Shemesh just for walking to school in clothing deemed insufficiently “modest,” looked weary yet determined on Sunday.
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“We don’t plan on leaving,” she told The Jerusalem Post in her home. “We just wake up every day thinking, what will be next?” Two days have passed since Margolis and her eight-year-old daughter, Na’ama, shared their trauma on national television.
Israelis watched Channel 2’s Friday evening news program with astonishment as Na’ama cried and refused to take the short walk to the Orot girls elementary school, fearing more abuse from grown men.
Since that broadcast, “the phone has been ringing off the hook with people offering their support,” Margolis said.
“We are exhausted. I hope this will bring change.”
The young mother said she did not view the whole of the haredi community as villains, but added that the extreme elements who harass her daughter are “evil people.”
“As a citizen of this country, I’m looking at the government with an expectation to stop this evil,” she added. When Na’ama sees haredi men “she still gets hysterical,” the mother said.
Margolis, an Orthodox woman who was born in the US and came to Israel with her family as a young girl, lives on a street heavily populated with Anglo-Israelis who have been bearing the brunt of the simmering confrontation with the adjacent haredi neighborhood over the location of the girl’s school.
Haredi extremists claim the school is provocatively situated in their neighborhood, and draws “immodestly dressed” girls and women to their midst.
Miriam Marcus, a mother of three who lives in the same building as Margolis, emigrated to Beit Shemesh from New York in 2007. She held back tears as she recounted how she was spat upon in 2008 while waiting at a bus stop with her sons.
“My knees and elbows were covered up, but my toes were exposed – I was wearing sandals,” she said. That was enough to prompt a spitting and shouting attack,” she added.
“It was so unbelievable that I could not react immediately,” Marcus added. “I never imagined when I moved here that we’d be fighting other Jews.”
Marcus asked why no haredi leaders have taken a public stance against the extremists.
“I’m actually afraid to cross the street,” she said.
Moshe Friedman, a resident of one of the haredi neighborhoods, told the Post that claims of spitting on children were fabricated, and were part of a homegrown “anti-Semitic” media campaign against his community.
“They can bring Channel 2 here, but it won’t help them,” he said. “There’s no spitting. There is yelling, because they decided to put the school in our neighborhood.”
“We will continue the fight,” he added. “We don’t want immodesty in our area.”
Friedman said there would be no conflict if the school was situated elsewhere.
“We never dictate to them how to live their lives. They shouldn’t tell us how to live either,” he said.
“What would happen if Arabs opened a school in a settlement?”
The tensions in Beit Shemesh had not abated on Sunday, when a vehicle carrying a Channel 2 crew was attacked with stones in a haredi area, smashing its windows.
Shmuel Pappenhum, a former haredi community spokesman, has been working to build a dialogue between the two communities. He blamed recent events and intense media coverage for setting back progress made in recent months.
“We are in close touch with parents and teachers from the Orot school, and we are trying to calm the girls down. We are explaining that haredim are not opposed to the school. Only a violent minority is behind this,” he said.
“We thought we had reached sanity, but last week it all fell apart,” Pappenhum continued.
Haredi rabbis, “even ultra-conservative ones” from Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem, had met with national-religious community representatives in the past and reached agreements, Pappenhum added. “Now it will be harder to make progress. We hope sanity will prevail, and that the extremists are restrained.”
Dov Lipman, a moderate haredi political activist, praised Orthodox Anglo-Israelis for “leading this battle.”
Lipman, who heads the Emergency Committee to Save Beit Shemesh, said “It is because of our efforts – and only because of our efforts – that this has become a national story.”
Its time for the police and security forces to stop showing restraint and use as much force as needed to bash the zealots once and for all. Ninty nine percent of Chareidim are upset about these thugs along with the rest of Israelis and wish to see them gone. If the police bash a few heads, there will be smiles across all of the Tzibur as these zealots are taken to off to jail bloody and crying gevalt. One or two broken bones should be sufficeint to deter their attacks on little girls and women in the future.
Don’t undersrand this mother why she needs to wear his daughter so immodest & harm so many jewish people of the area? Residence of beit shames move there cause they wane live a frum jewish torha’dig life not moderen (she can move to a seculer place as tal aviv & promise u nobody will bother her)
First of all, there is never any excuse for spitting or violence. The question is what came first – I heard the Modern Orthodox were there first – when I was in EY ten years ago, I always heard Beth Shemesh to be a Modern Orthodox American community, only around the time I was there the moderate Haredi element was coming in. I personally tend to identify with the ultra-conservative Haredi ideology, which is what makes this whole story confusing. The anti-zionist ideology is against a Jewish state, so what difference would it make to them what goes on? If they do not want a Jewish state, and they do not vote, then they have no right to tell anyone outside of their community what to do. It is obvious that these extremists have no ideology, and are just hooligans and troublemakers, and are indeed reshaim as the woman is quoted as saying
Then we wonder why so many children from the ultra orthodox community become secular, because they emphasise the shtus of appearance instead of emmuna , bitachon and derech eretz ,
“When Na’ama sees haredi men “she still gets hysterical,” the mother said.”
“I never imagined when I moved here that we’d be fighting other Jews.”
Now isn’t THIS the real tragedy of all this craziness?! Aside from the obviously harmful act of spitting on people (ew- gross!), it’s also causing a MAJOR Chillul Hashem, making young children afraid of Haredim & making people feel like they don’t even want to live in Israel anymore!
A woman was SPAT ON just for wearing sandals! She was covered from head to, er, well… ankle! (lol) But wearing sandals was cause to spit on her?! She wasn’t “modest enough” for them because they could see her toes?!
Yeah… because feet are so sexy! (eyeroll) Give me a break!
I’ve changed my mind about the segregation on the buses, now that I’ve learned more facts about the situation…
But there’s no way those crazies could convince me that THIS behavior (spitting on their own people), is acceptable by halachic standards! There’s just NO defense of their animalistic actions at all! And if even a gentile like me knows this… why don’t they?!
Where are their Rabbis to set these people straight?!?!
(con’t)
Also, I just want to add that I find it very disturbing, that these crazy haredim are scoping out young girls to see if they are “modest enough” according to their standards!
How many mothers here in VIN would feel comfortable knowing there’s gonna be a large group of MEN checking out their daughters? To see if their skirts are too short, too tight, or if they have proper leg & arm coverings, etc?
For that matter… how many fathers would feel comfortable w\this?!?!
Who appointed these haredim to be the fashion police?!
They act like the girl’s school being there, is going to do the SAME kind of damage to the community, as if a strip-club was built there instead! That’s exactly how they are treating these young girls!
As if they are dressing like prostitues! They even call them “Pritzas”! And I don’t know if I’m spelling that right or not… but I know what it MEANS at least, and it ain’t a compliment!
Why can’t they be hauled away for disturbing the peace, or even for ASSAULT for that matter?!
As a more progressive (or Liberal) person, I am all for Free Speech. Make no mistake about that! But these people are crossing the line!
The community has a right to defend its integrity and holiness. If they feel that unwanted influences are threatening their existence, then they may use neccesary actions to kick the infiltrators out and make them feel unwanted.
It’s clear that extremists are setting the agenda and acting with impunity. The situation is intolerable. There can be no excuse for such actions, which will only bring further condemnation upon the haredi community, with media and others generalizing to think of all in the community as being mysogynists.
Why are these perverted pigs inspecting the women to see what they are wearing? If they were really Frum they would not wear their glasses in public and turn away from the women and would be unable to notice whether they were properly covered or not. They are a bunch of rabble rousers who are not doing this for K’vod Shomayim but rather in an effort to satisfy their own selfish needs.
If the woman in the picture is in any representative of the mothers of girls at the Orot school I am not surprised the yirei Hashem are up in arms. A married woman’s uncovered hair is erva: period. No one can stop the modern undressing as much as they like in the chiloni areas and their own modern enclaves but please have the decency to dress as the holy Torah demands when you are amongst yirei shomayim.
The problem lies squarely with how the Chasidm raise their young. I remember 45 years ago in Rockaway Beach being called a shagetz by their children. Believe me, I have never forgotten that and it has colored my view of them from then on.
1st. Spitting is not allowed ever.
2nd. The news media is playing it up and this is causing more and more problems
which give the media something to right about
3rd The news media is anti-religious and far left
4th Though I thoroughly am against the trouble makers; on both sides, the mother
should have enough sense for her and her daughter to dress modest. She is
providing provocation; but it should not result in what the trouble makers or
doing.
5th The Satmar Rebbe Rav Yoel, always trying to bring people closer and that is
how he built his community. In a book about his life he accept everybody into
his school with the hope of them growing in Yiddishkeit.
6. You get more flies with honey than vinegar
What a Shanda!!
What is the problem with this photo? I do not see any immodesty in the photo!
To #1 ” Don’t undersrand this mother why she needs to wear his daughter so immodest & harm so —————-” It doesn’t say in the article that she was immodest. It says her clothing was deemed insufficiently modest. By whom? The extremists? Looking at the photo she seems like a sweet 8 year old. The mother and daughter are both dressed modestly. Do you think she was sent to school wearing a mini skirt and a tank top? Nonsense. By their standards your wife’s dress may be considered immodest.
We criticize the Arabs for being extremists and for wanting Sharia law while ignoring the extremists in our own midst. It’s truly sad and a Chilul Hashem too. The Chumash tells us that Yaakov Avinu kissed Rochel Imainu upon meeting her. If he had done that in a Charedi community, he would have been spat on and stoned.
No one has a right to his or her own neighborhood. A goy can live in a Jewish neighborhood. A yid can live in a goyishe neighborhood. A white can live in Harlem. Etc etc. This business of neighborhood makeup being determined by fiat is an Israeli mishegas.
how can you all believe as story of a little girl against that of a grown person. I live here in Beit shemesh and dont hear any of these stories. The street signs that they took down are on 1 street for 15 meters and all it says is that during the times of davening can you please walk on the other side of the strret if you dont they dont do a thing it is all blown out of perspective what the media are doing
Beit Shemsh was a community of americans and modern orthodox, Charedi, and non frum, living nicly side by side. 10 years ago, I contemplated moving there simply becuase it was american and a nice community with a nice balance of jews.
To take over a city like this is Talaban, this is not in the Torah, nor in Halacha to impose your views on others.
Meah Shearim is the gehto they may choose to live in, and i can understand that they can setup shop as they see fit. But once this spreads out to telling others what to do, and spit and yell at others, the buck stops here!!!
The whole Torah world must stand up and call out these crazies. If they wish to live how they wish in thier own home that is thier business, but they have no right telling other modern orthodox jews or for that matter anyone. how to live, nor shold thye get away with this behavior. Setup cameras, record thier actions, have the victems press charges w/ harsh Money fines or prison.
I am frum grew up untra Orthodox [Not Chardie] and condemn this behavior without any justification for thier madness.
And to Naama Margolese, “it is not Okay what they do to you, we love you and support you. be strong!
i dont understand this whole carziness, the way i see it is that this women is more modern type (orthodpx modern) and there are a lot of extreme chasisidhe people living there and they claim that they want the city to be their style…… i live in monsey NY and i am chasidish and dressed according to the chasidish style, but i do know a lot of people here and in my area that are dressed diff. since i dont owe the city i wont and cant tell them what to do i know the schools might control whom they accept etc. i beleive the city was a modern or rather mixed city all the years and if chasidim want to come in there they could concetrate on several streets and of course in their few streets is where they so called control (and people that dont belong to that secter wont move there) how did we all lived in the old times and how did we all lived in will. the early days in was mixed with goyim etc
i totally dont undersatnd what they all wont…..
For those of you that slam the media this is for you. If the Rabbonim would publicly condemn this craziness the media would go away. Why? Since everyone will see it’s just a few crazies causing all the problems. By all the Rabbonim being quiet and the people being quiet they are to a degree approving all of this. I understand these crazies would not listen to the Rabbonim anyway. However if they (Rabbonim) went against them publicly and strongly I think the media storm would dissipate.
It is also funny to me how everyone slams the messenger.
In my conspiracy mind I wonder what is going on? Why all of the sudden this extreme tzinus trend? Did some Rabbi/Imam preach something in shul? Just seems this is a well coordinated attempt to mess with the Israeli govt.
My suggestion is to set up cameras in the main trouble spots, and once the culprits are caught, they should be forced out of the community if they can not sincerely promise to forever refrain from such public insults. If the bes din would forbid all the heads of the local schools from enrolling the children of such troublemakers in their schools, once they have no local place to enroll their children, they will be forced to move elsewhere.
Unfortunately few rabbonim have the strength to handle these sorts of problems.
If these zealots force this lady out, there will be worse problems for these zealots!! You realize that by now, this has been in the newspapers around the world, on the web, and on the radio. If she is forced out, it will put further blacken the Jewish name, all because a few “NUTS” want to spit at an innocent child!! Moving is not an answer!! Stopping the spitting!! That is your answer!! Who among our talmidei chachamim will stand up?? There are 3 whom I can think of! Time will tell.
The most amusing entries are those we need moshiach. Eliminate sinas chinom and replace it with ahavas yisroel and moshiach will be here
All of you who are bashing the haredim of Beit shemesh, where are you when radical settlers are harassing arabs every single day? The biggest chilul hashem being done by the radicals and the same nicks who scream now “zealots” are defending the radicals. When the media accuse the settlers for burning down mosques or cutting off olive trees this forum started bashing the media as “lefties” “self hating” etc..
All of a sudden you’re the same page with the media.
VD”L
Many of your comments are based on false assumptions. First of all, Bet Shemesh is a city which has all kinds of Jews – Israelis and Americans, frum and not frum. What is known as Ramat Bet Shemesh is only a section of the city and has many American charedim/yeshivish. The section of Bet Shemesh discussed here is a modern orthodox american community (not in Ramat Bet Shemesh). Adjacent to their community is an Israeli Chassidish community, which happened to have been built after the MO community. Some of these chassidim live directly across the street from modern orthodox families – that street is the “border” of the 2 communities. the MO that live on the border often receive pamphlets in their yards requesting that they dress more modestly and get rid of their tvs, and they are upset as they lived there first and have the right to live their lives according to their own derech. there have also been several incidents where male chassidim acted violently towards girls dressed immodestly by their standards. most of the MO there understand that this is a small extreme sect of charedim and most are not like this, but unfortunately this is the behavior their children see.
I am very concerned about these grown men who are sexually aroused by a 7 year olds toes. They need immediate counseling
These zealots are as foreign from the Torah as reform!
What terrible people!!! Gahennom is full of black hats and shtreimlech….
The Torah teaches us to be kind to people, not wild and obnoxious.
Jobs jobs jobs.. Is the only answer.. These young people need jobs.. They need to be kept busy for 40-50 hours a week being productive so that they don’t have time to be distructive.. The underlying problem is that we don’t encourage kids to get properly educated and pursue degrees.. Instead they’re bored and looking for a fight..
Why do they insist on living among the Charidi if they are unwanted? The charidi don’t want their kids to see any other way of living than their own, especially girls dressed untzniusdig, according to their definition of tznius.
to # 25 right and yaakov avinu also married two sisters if someone were to do that theyd also be spat at crazy society we live in
Even if the girl or her mother were inappropriately dressed, this behavior would still be the opposite of what Torah demands. If the same “Charedim” would spend time learning Chumash Rashi, instead of spitting on children, they would have just learned that Tamar was prepared to be burned alive rather than embarrass another, even when she was 100% in the right. There is a horrible irony when zealots trample all over the actions of the Avos in the name of preserving the kedushah of the avos.
The video more than anything else reflects the tume of these chareidi hoodlums. Smiling and screaming against the mishtara. Shame the Israeli government is not outsourcing their police . A few hits with a batoon and one water cannon would clear them away like straw
of course all the posting here won’t make a bit of difference.tragically,many very frum yidden are raised with the philosiphy that any one who doesn’t look like them is a goy and that it’s Ok to be rude and nasty to them.
What’s wrong with these hareidi men? They sound completely depraved and socially unfit to walk the streets.
Men should be able to control themselves no matter what form of supposed immodesty they encounter. Anywhere. Period. I understand that these hareidi hoodlums want to live in a community free of temptations, but the very nature of Torah living is to control primal urges and channel the energy into positive family and community involvement.
Do they really expect the rest of the world to conform to their standards on a public thoroughfare? Just because these apes can’t control themselves upon seeing a woman wearing sandals at a bus-stop is no excuse to spit upon her and verbally accost her in front of her 2 sons. And to project this behavior on a child like Naama is even more disgusting.
Even if this story were exaggerated & only half true… it would still be pretty shocking, worthy of mass media attention.
This is a new low for our people. Jew spitting upon Jew over issues of tzniut!
Would Rachel Imeinu herself have been treated the same way if the hareidi trash in Beit Shemesh had control of the well at Haran?
ridicules, how is yelling at a 8 year old part of Judaism????
is a 8 year old a target for a “war”?
why is she to blame for her mother’s and community’s actions?
i won’t even get into the lack of purpose with this fight altogether