The Israeli Rosa Parks?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Gender, Religion, The WorldDid you realize that Israel has gender segregation on buses?
A woman who reported a vicious attack by an ad-hoc “modesty patrol” on a Jerusalem bus last month is now lining up support for her case and may be included in a petition to the High Court of Justice over the legality of sex-segregated buses.Miriam Shear says she was traveling to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City early on November 24 when a group of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men attacked her for refusing to move to the back of the Egged No. 2 bus. She is now in touch with several legal advocacy and women’s organizations, and at the same time, waiting for the police to apprehend her attackers.
In her first interview since the incident, Shear says that on the bus three weeks ago, she was slapped, kicked, punched and pushed by a group of men who demanded that she sit in the back of the bus with the other women. The bus driver, in response to a media inquiry, denied that violence was used against her, but Shear’s account has been substantiated by an unrelated eyewitness on the bus who confirmed that she sustained an unprovoked “severe beating.”
Amazing stuff people, and a reminder that while Israel may be our friend they’re certainly not without fault. Especially if they’re allowing this type of segregation in their country.
Also, you can click here to read an email Miriam Shear sent out after this incident happened.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 19th, 2006 and is filed under Gender, Religion, The World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 19th, 2006 at 2:59 pm
Just to be precise, gender segregation is practiced on so-called mehadrin busses, which are almost exclusively the ones which go to and from Hareidi neighborhoods. Those bus lines were requested to be that way, and it’s a relatively new (last couple of decades) concept.
The bus Ms. Shear was on was NOT a mehadrin bus. Even if it had been, the conduct of the men who assaulted her is egregious and should not be tolerated.
Nothing excuses for a moment the conduct of the people who assaulted her, but I wanted to point out that it’s certainly not the norm in Israel.
December 19th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
As bad as this is, it’s nothing compared to the sexual discrimination practiced in some Moslem countries…
Mind you, I’m not excusing them, I’m pretty well known for my opinion about religious fanatics of any flavor…including many of America’s own. For example, those Episcopalian branches from Virginia who just decided to switch to the AFRICAN diocese because they hate gays and women. So basically siding with a country that practices female circumcision and stones gay people to death is better than having a gay pastor…
December 19th, 2006 at 9:25 pm
A religious nut is a religious nut is a religious nut…ad infinitum
December 25th, 2006 at 3:13 am
David, just to be precise, the mehadrin (gender separated) lines have only run for the past five years. And as far as I know, they are exclusively (not “almost exclusively”) buses between Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) areas. I think there are 24 such lines, out of hundreds of bus lines throughout the country.
I agree with the rest of your message. Correct, there is no excuse for assault by self-appointed modesty patrols, whether they are on a bus designated as mehadrin or not. As you wrote, this particular case was not even on a mehadrin bus! And, from what I’ve read, the practice of gender separation on these 24 bus lines is informal and completely voluntary. Supposedly, anyone can ignore it and sit wherever they please, though this is seen as disrespectful of the main population that uses these buses.
All in all, a bad situation that never should have happened, and hopefully the Supreme Court will rule it illegal on public buses. But as you noted, it is certainly not the norm in Israel.
January 17th, 2007 at 7:49 am
The story is a complete hoax, created by a person who simply wishe sto blacken teh reputation of orthodox Jews.
It is 2 months since is ‘happened’ and there are absolutely no further developments to the case – despite camera crews having ‘filmed’ it.