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10/02/2008
Haredi violence against women in Israel
From The Guardian: Some Haredim in Israel are extremely vocal (and physical) about women following their sect's specific moral and dress codes. For example:
"Signs warning women not to enter if they are wearing trousers, short sleeves or a skirt above the knees, hang in the neighbourhood. One is affixed outside Kreus's two-room house where he lives with his wife and 11 children. 'Every week there's a complaint about the way women dress,' said Kreus.
Extraordinarily, he admitted to slashing the tyres of women who have driven into the neighbourhood who, he said, were indecently dressed. 'There was a mess with the police,' he said. 'Now I'm trying new creative methods, not using violence. Now I make a small hole in their tyres and the air deflates slowly. I'm not destroying their car.'"
The article doesn't do enough to explain that this is one specific sect and that not all Orthodox (and not all ultra-Orthodox, even) Jews engage in these disgusting acts, but, yes, the sect is all-too-vocal about the way secular and slightly-less-observant Israeli women dress:
"He maintained that separation was necessary beyond the boundaries of the neighbourhood. 'Having secular people on the buses is a problem. They go like animals, without clothes. Non-religious girls don't dress properly. They encourage me to sin,' he said.
With the demographics skewed in their favour, government authorities are acquiescing to the growing demands of the ultra-orthodox. The transport ministry, which regulates and funds bus transport through private companies, has allowed operators to provide 'kosher' or 'pure' routes, where women are required to sit at the back and cannot board unless appropriately dressed.
More than a dozen women have filed complaints after being verbally or physically attacked on the buses. 'Sometimes it's an official group but often it's one or two men who start to complain and the other men follow,' said the Israel Religious Action Centre's legal director, Einat Hurvitz. 'The drivers allow them to intimidate the women.' Haredi women also participated in the bullying."
In Israel, these small groups have a (rather loud) political voice, which is one reason why forming coalitions in the Knesset can be so difficult.
08:06 Permalink | Comments (4) | Email this | Tags: jews, judaism, israel, women
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Posted by: Joel Katz | 10/02/2008
Is this Kreus guy for real? "I make a small hole in their tyres and the air deflates slowly. I'm not destroying their car." It's still defacing someone else's property! It should not be tolerated. Neither should attacking women on a bus who supposedly dress differently from what the Haredim feel comfortable with. Bus drivers need to be calling in this behavior to the police if they can't diffuse the situation. I support the women who filed complaints and I hope these women vigorously pursue their complaints.
Interesting that the article mentioned there are private companies in Israel who run "kosher" buses. I've seen these in New York. I believe they are run by Monsey Trails. They look like standard old-model Greyhound buses (they might even be former Greyhound buses), but men and women sit on opposite sides and there's a curtain that separates them. These buses run from Monsey and Spring Valley in Rockland County to Manhattan. But they too have had problems with discrimination against women. This article from 1994 has more information about it.
Posted by: Horseheads | 10/02/2008
I see my attempt at making a hyperlink failed, so here is the link:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02E7D61E38F93AA3575AC0A962958260
Posted by: Horseheads | 10/02/2008
I love that the Civil Liberties Union references Rosa Parks while the Religious Liberty fund's recourse is to Emily Post. Oy.
Posted by: PrimroseRoad | 10/03/2008
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