Mea Shearim – Justice Beinisch says minority groups cannot take over public spaces, says there should be no segregation in Mea Shearim.
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At a hearing of the High Court of Justice on Sunday, Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch instructed the police to remove separation barriers erected in the streets of Mea Shearim designed to prevent male and female intermingling during Succot, and also ordered the police to remove private security personnel enforcing the gender separation.
The decision comes following a petition filed by Jerusalem City Councilwoman Rachel Azariah on Friday, demanding that last year’s High Court ruling which affirmed that gender separation is illegal, be enforced.
Haredi activist Shraga Neiman claimed that the barriers were erected for only three or four hours in the evening at the time of the simchat bet hashoeva parties and were not designed to separate men and women, but instead to allow a clear path for people to gain access to the various yeshivot and synagogues which are otherwise blocked by the large numbers of passers-by.
That would be fine, said Azariah, if the partitions were not two meters high and did not include canvas curtains and private security personnel instructing people where to walk.
“This kind of separation is humiliating for women. Whether it’s being confined to the back of the buses or being told to use alternative streets, and it is women who are having to deal with the take-over of religion by extremists. Moreover, women in the Haredi community are afraid to speak out for fear of being ostracized and this is why the state needs to step in.”
What about muslim areas- oh, sensitivities.
Let’s just cover the Jewish women up from head to toe in black burkas and then the taivah-driven men won’t have to see them at all. Seems to work so well for the Muslim, right? In Ramat Beit Shemesh the Jewish Taiban wants separate entrances to the supermarket now? Eyn l’davar sof.
why are we woried about this if 1000 murders are going free
Were there complaints concerning this issue?
I think they should move these barriers to Ben Yehuda Street which is in great need of some segregation. It is awful what goes on there at night and it is almost all anglo students “learning” in Israel. I do not blame the residents of any town that wish to keep their kids away from the disgraceful behavior that I have personally witnessed-and it was past midnight, including; smoking (not just cigarettes), drinking alcohol, public affection MTV style, screaming, blaring loud music, and cursing. While this may be acceptable in “college” towns, it is quite fair for the residents of a city to say we do not want this here. Meah Shearim opens their hearts to the public for simchat beis hashoevot and offers thousands of shkalim worth of food free of charge to all who come. Respect their rules of modesty-even if you have a hard time understanding them!
Simchos Bais Hashoeva is a religious celebration. During the simchos Bais Hashoeva in the Bais Hamikdosh, genders were separated and they should be separated now too. This is not an affront to women-it is a tribute to women that men find them a distraction.
Which women were humiliated by a mechitza in Mea Shearim? If feminine humiliation is a gauge for public policy, perhaps the government would do better to ban billboards with unclothed women all across the country r”l.
Meah Shearim is not its own state – it is part of the State of Israel and those that live there are subject to the same laws, rules and regulations as all other Israelis.
Much as I personally despise unnecessary gender segregation, it seems to me that we should use here what I call “the Amish test”. If, instead of talking about Mea Shearim, we were talking about Lancaster, PA, and some Amish celebration had these gender separation barriers, would that bother you? — this should be no different (either way). I am willing to bet that many who would not be bothered by that scenario are bothered by this.