Primrose Road

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.

Aish New York, a branch of kiruv organization Aish HaTorah (which basically aims to bring young Jewish people "back" to Haredism, one mitzvah at a time), is offering "gender wars" workshops later this month. These workshops are intended "for young Jewish professionals in their 20s and 30s with limited to no Jewish background":

We all know that men and women are different- but how do you learn to use those differences to engage in a successful relationship with the opposite gender? What A Man Wants For Women Only (Join for part II on Sept 24th) Ziva Kramer is a matchmaker and a dating mentor with attitude. Her delicate and brilliant assessment of relationships will give all women the power and strength to take each step in the dating process with grace and wisdom. With the wit of her stories and vast matchmaking experience, Ziva will shock you while simultaneously opening up your eyes to all the truths which she has learned over the years. What A Woman Needs For Men Only Rabbi Yitz Greenman, husband and father of nine, has over 15 years of experience presenting no-nonsense wisdom on relationships. An accomplished executive in the field of Jewish outreach, his combination of humor and relatable life experience have made him a sought-after counselor by singles, couples, and some of the most senior New York executives.

I love love love the subtle difference between the titles. I also love how some of these outreach organizations -- I've encountered quite a bit of this in discussions with members of SigOther's temple -- basically prey on lonely single Jewish people and convince them that God will send them their bashert if and only if they (1) take on a couple of extra mitzvahs and (2) lose some of the feminist attitude. (Or, in some cases, men and women in these organizations will argue that tznius (modesty) is in itself a form of feminism. Though "Mom with a View" Emuna Braverman offers up some insightful points about first- and second-wave feminisms here, there's definitely an assumption at work here that when it comes to dress, women have a choice between Torah-dictated modesty and sluttishness, and that there's nothing in between!)