Jerusalem – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu directed Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch Saturday to get the police to aggressively take action to combat violence by extremist haredim (ultra-Orthodox) against women.
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Netanyahu phoned Aharonovitch following a Friday night Channel 2 report showing an eight-year old modern orthodox girl afraid to walk 300 meters to school because of harassment from some haredim because of her attire. The report interviewed a haredi man saying it was permissible to spit at even a school age girl if she was not dressed “properly.”
In addition to speaking with Aharnovitch, Netanyahu also called Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to ensure that laws against excluding women from the public space were enforced.
“We will not allow groups of extremists to harm the right of women in the public space, which must remain open and secure for everyone,” Netanyahu said.
Vered Swid, director-general of the National Authority for the Advancement of Women and a senior advisor to the prime minister, said Netanyahu was very clear in his policy towards elements among the haredi (ultra- Orthodox) community to sideline women, including forcing them to sit at the back of public buses.
“On this issue he is very clear. This isn’t something that needs to be discussed or debated. No one should force a woman to sit at the back of the bus,” said Swid, who plans to work in the coming weeks with local authorities, bus companies and woman’s organizations to rid society of this phenomenon.
“I cannot assure that it will completely disappear from our society but we take this issue very seriously,” she said, adding that raising public awareness to the issue will help to deter it from happening.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
Lol. Waste of time.
Forced to sit at the back of the bus….
That’s where I WANT to sit. Can’t you get that? As for the spitting, I can’t imagine it being somebody who grew up in a mainstream frum home.
They say one thing and do another. For some reason the police continue to show restraint and fail to deal forcefully with some of the chareidi zealots who abuse women. Bashing a few heads seems to be the only language they understand but yet the police standy by and allow these goons to terrorize women.
@2 sit in the back i dont care, if it make you feel more holy, yay for you, but dont presume that those who dont want to need to emulate you. You cant imagine? well hatre to break it to you these are people who grew up chasidic from birth, the fact that the person justified it (i saw the interview) comes to show you that these people have nothing to do with chasidus or yiddeshkiet, they are just a close relation to Judeism nothing more.
lo chaser lanu nutcases. meah sharim is full of people who think that because they dress so different and wear their hair soo different, that they are G-d’s gift to Judaism. They are empty headed morons who cover up their ignorance with out landish clothing. Some one should drag them to a bais medresh.
The worst thing is how the media for political reasons takes things out of context and distorts the reality. The Hassidic communities in Ashdod had their own private jitney service with seperate seating for men and women. Egged, the government bus service, in order to obliterate the competition from the private sector and pocket some more income, approached the religious community and offered them a “Mehadrin” bus line in their neighborhood with seperate seating if they terminate they private jitney service. They came to an agreement and thus was the origin of the Mehadrin bus in Ashdod. Non religious factions decided to make a tzimmes about this as if the religious community wishes to take over and dictate to Egged how to run their buses with segregated seating as if in Alabama in the 1960’s. The women who forceably sat in the front seat did it provocatively and knowing that this is the Mehadrin line which was agreed upon for the religious community. If Egged wants to go back on their agreement in order that the Mrs Whatchamcallit can ride the bus with another 3 of her friends, than let them service her with a bus line and the religious will again use their private services.
For those who think its a joke, understand that as an Orthodox woman living a block away from the school & who has been told to move to the back of a bus- & refused- this is no laughing matter. Watch the video from Ch. 2 where a zealot states that even a 7 year old girl not dressed according to Halacha is a problem- that he’s a “healthy man” & that such behavior “bothers” him. He might as well be wearing a sign that says “I’m a Pedophile!” If you’re remotely excited by the ankles or toes of a 7 year old girl you are FAR from healthy. We’re women dressed in accordance with Halacha & STILL get called these horrible things. The woman who yelled at me to move to the back of the bus embarrased me because of my “lack of kavod.” Anyone get the irony there or see who was REALLY not being modest? This is NOT about being anti anything other than crazy, misguided people who are violent and abusive. And it’s not about respecting them in their neighborhoods or on their buses. We’re talking about PUBLIC buses, PUBLIC property. We should be focused on the enemies who seek to destroy us all- no matter how we’re dressed or what we look like.
an empty can makes allot of noise. a couple of mishigoyim are making a bad name for all charadim,who are the people in zaka hatzala ezer to this and that where is the press to show the chareybim in a good light .
So Netanyahu called his Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein on Shabbos. That is sure to improve the situation. The chilonim in Israel simply don’t get the fact that authentic Yiddishkeit will not bend to their skewed worldview.
#2 Shvigger-
These idiots may not be mainstream. But they still do tremendous harm. And if the “mainstream” remains silent, then they deserve the bad press that they get.
The only people protesting this kind of despicable violence are secular Israelis and Mizrachi Rabbonim. From the fact that no Chareidi Rov is making a statement shows that this kind of fundamentalism is condoned. There is something rotten in the whole system.
Israeli media at its best:
“violence by extremist haredim (ultra-Orthodox) against women.”
I remember when Chareidem were called Ultra-Orthodox. There’s probably a thousand Ultra-Orthodox for each extremist Chareidi out there! Yet they’re (Israeli Media) eager to label them as one.
I live there also, yes, it is a minority of chareidim who do the crazy things, but it is the majority of charedim who “benefit” by chasing away all non-charedim from living anywhere near them. This is what all of them want, bar none, even the moderate american chareidim. They all consider the more modern dati leumi and non religious to be nisht fun inzere at best, and would try to push them out if they could. Very few of the chareidi chevra would stand up to the kanoim.
To #14 You are right!! These zealots, are a shandeh to the Jewish kehillah!! They should be thrown out of their yeshivas and kollels!! There was an editorial/article about these zealots in this week’s Mishpacha!! Our g’dolim do not like them nor do they side with them AT ALL!!
This is not a Charedi problem. The Middle East is full of all kinds of extremism. When an objective dissenter in the US disagrees with an official policy, they demonstrate or badger their politicians. When a leftist Israeli wants to disagree with a policy of the army, he or she leaks damaging information to the international media that costs people their lives. When the Zionists wanted to make a state in Israel, they bombed hotels and risked thousands of Jewish lives. The settlers have people trying to win their case by ruining army equipment. It is either something in the air there or Arab influences. Just like American Jews are influenced by American culture and values, the Israelis are influenced by Arabic culture.
The report interviewed a haredi man saying it was permissible to spit at even a school age girl if she was not dressed “properly.”
Of course, the supposedly “haredi” man can find no Rav to sanction his actions. Nor can he cite a single Halacha that supports his actions. Not in Shas, Rosh, Rambam, Rif, Tur, Shulchan Aruch, or anywhere else can he produce a heter to spit. Yet, he identifies as “haredi.”
Truly a disgusting individual.