Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein announced he is adopting a special report prepared by the Justice Ministry addressing exclusion of women (הדרת נשים). The report addresses gender segregation on public buses; stressing the need to enforce a non-discriminatory policy, to prevent gender separated seating on mehadrin bus lines.
The report cites the need to prevent gender separation on buses, at state ceremonies, in kupot cholim (HMOs), in cemeteries, and radio stations. The attorney general’s decision to accept the recommendations of the ministry document will result in opening another front in the anti-chareidi momentum that has been prominent in the country since the general elections.
Weinstein’s office sent a directive to Minister of Religious Services Naftali Bennett, Minister of the Interior Gideon Saar, Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz, Minister of Sport Limor Livnat, Minister of Communications Gilad Erdan, and Minister of Health Yael German, instructing them to act on this immediately to eliminate any ‘exclusion of women’ in relevant areas under their jurisdiction. The report contains criminal and legislative recommendations towards advancing legislation against the exclusion of women, recommending legislation that would make discriminatory practices a criminal offence, citing “Any act of harassment of a person by way of contempt or humiliation on the basis of race, religion, nationality, country of origin, gender and sexual orientation in order to prevent him or her from the access and use of a public service or to compromise the conditions under which one receives the public service”.
Mehadrin bus lines are now being targeted more than at any time in the past. The report recommends limiting boarding a bus to the front door only, eliminating the rear door option for women. It points out that separate seating on buses is a violation of the law but adds if the passengers opt to sit apart on their own, then it is permissible but no coercion will be permitted or tolerated.
Weinstein prohibits gender separation at any state sponsored event with the exception being an event of a “religious nature” in which most participants favor separate seating. The report cites gender separation in cemeteries, calling on the Ministry of Religious Services to end the practice by which a chevra kadisha does not permit a woman to be maspid a niftar or compels mourners to remain separated by gender.
Neighborhood signs instructing women to use a particular sidewalk and/or dress modestly are also addressed, stating this practice is illegal and cannot be tolerated. The same holds true with barring women from being heard on chareidi radio stations.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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38 Responses
What part of “they hate us” and “they want to destroy us” do you not understand? Those frum Jews who have collaborated with the zionists should finally realize they made a mistake. The many gedolim who warned that establishing a secular zionist state would come to no good end – have been totally vindicated.
What part of this is against halacha? Separate busses is not halacha, it’s a crazy meshugass of the charedim.
this is “aschalta d’geulah”! – yah…
Let’s remind everyone that the Mehadrin buses started as PRIVATE BUSES, and the main objection was to have more officiant bus service for the frum communities – timely, less stops, and cheaper! – but then Egged, fearing the competition, stepped in and promised they would accommodate, and the rest is business as usual in the ‘only democracy in the middle east’…
The majority of the secular Israelis realy think that we “discriminate”, instead of kicking and screaming “they hate us” we need to engage the secular public, increase our outreach efforts and prove to them that we actually honor and cherish our women way more than the secular world.
Most secular Israeli’s respect our heritage, but they are constantly being bombarded by the minority that controls the secular media, we have to fight back using the same weapons – the media, B”h there’s Hidabroot but the chareidi extremists are undoing any outreach advancements, we need to stop them.
#2,
I’ll bet you’re not yourself a bus rider who travels for over an hour in these mixed crowded buses. it’s basic convenience for everyone. this is what this community wants! – what is so hard to understand?!
whats next no separate bathrooms?
#1 akuperma, it’s easy to talk like that with a “told you so” tone, but where do we go from here? The medinah may currently be anti-Torah and out to get us, but this isn’t always the case and it’s certainly preferable to the alternative.
For now, we just need to bide our time and these things can be reversed. How long will this last? Rationally not for long, Israeli governments never last and they are at each other’s throats already. Soon the hareidi tzibur will be back in control of what counts and our influence will continue to grow because we have time and demographics on our side.
Number it is hard for them to understand because they don’t want to understand. If they were in a Moslem country they would have no problem. If they are told to dress tzinua to go to the Vatican again no problem, however tell them to dress tziuna when you go to the Kosel or a frum wedding; than all hell breaks loose.
truthsharer : In fact many countries have separate seating options on public transit. It seems that even non-Jewish women object to be squeezed by men. It is to our credit that our men also find it objectionable when they are squeezed by women (that isn’t an issue in other countries).
The only reason the Israelis are making an issue is they hate us. Remember, you are talking about a country that promotes tourism focused on giloi arayos with women “recruited” against their will from other countries. Stop trying to be “danle-kaf zechus” since its rather obvious they have a hazaka as deviant bigotted reshaim.
I agree we need to “engage” them. Perhaps, the way the Allies engaged the Nazis (BTW, Happy V-E day today). Bigotry is not dealt with through “engagement”. Did the American south abolish slavery due to fine speeches – or maybe something like the American army buring their cities? Did the Germans give up Nazism after it was explained how misguided they were, or did it have to do with the Allies implementing “regime change.”
I’m not saying it is hopeless to negotiate. Has v’Shalom I should contradict the anti-zionist hareidi gedolim that support only non-violence and negotation with the hilonim — but being realistic, “hate” and “bigotry” are rarely resolved by mere discussion.
I come here just to read the insane drivel that akuperma posts. Who hates Zionists more, the arabs or the haredim? Maybe you should make aliyah to Monsey.
#2 –
1) Has “charedim” become a perjorative here on what used to be a charedi site?
2) As far as funerals are concerned, not only is it halacha, but the source of separating men and women is from the Hesped of Moshiach ben Yosef. See Sukka 52a, base on Zecharia 12.
I have a very simple solution to this problem. Have the Mehadrin buses put the men in the back and the women in the front (with couples in the middle as they are now). The men will get on through the back door.
This will demonstrate that the issue is tznius and not bigotry.
SpiderJerusalem : So why are you so makpid to sit next to a person of the opposite gender, and to demand that everyone else does likewise?
MDshweks, that’s right. You said it well. It’s time for charedim to once again protest Egged’s monopoly over the buses and request their own bus lines. It seems that the justice department forgot the deal.
BTW in travels through Europe, Canada and USA there is no such thing as a gender-separated rule, law or suggestion.
The only separation at Medical Clinics is between the sick and well patients. If the desire is separate sidewalks, grocery hours, medical clinics then the way to go is to have a ‘private-restricted community’ and make the laws for gender separation. It will not fly or should fly in any democratic country.
akuperma: I don’t care who I sit next to on a bus because I enjoy western civilization and I don’t want to infringe upon another’s liberty to sit where they please. Also, Rosa Parks.
“I enjoy western civilization”
SpiderJerusalem: Enjoy it while you can. Your grandchildren will likely marry into Western Civilization leaving any vestige of Judaism behind.
#11 -really? – look at the videos of the prior Chabbad rebbe’s funeral and see whether there was gender separation. Also, look at the wedding photos of prior gedolim
SpiderJerusalem: Yet you wish to have the state infringe on where we sit on the bus. The analogy to Rosa Parks is in error – she wanted to sit together with whites. An analagous situation would be if both races wanted to sit separately, and the police came to drag them to force them to sit next to each other. Furthermore, in many cultures, there are strong reasons why persons of one gender do not which to be forced to have physical contact with members of the other gender – indeed, this is true in much of western civilization (I saw a poster on the super-blue, super-politically correct Washington DC Metro, warning people not to touch persons of the other gender).
So it seems you not only wish to deny us the liberty to sit where we please, but are insisting that we engage in what western civilization considers to be Sexual harassment. If you come to DC be careful, since it appears that your “enjoyment” of western civilization will get you busted (if you search for info on gender separation, you find it in many countries including Mexico and Japan). It’s not just hareidi fanatics who feel people of one gender should avoid unwanted touching people of a different gender.
#2, #4, #10 – Remember my words (post). Very soon Israel will be the most difficult country in the world to be a Torah-observant Yid. You’re all still being blinded by your idealism and are being apologists to the most chareidi-hating government anywhere Yiddin are allowed to live.
akuperma: Your illogic is profound. You intentionally misunderstand that people have a right to sit where they want and nothing in the Torah justifies otherwise. You don’t even seem to understand how your argument implies that women should sit in the back because haredi men cannot control themselves. It’s really something, watching you write.
Bogen: Yeah, who needs all that liberty anyway? What I need is a rabbi who tells me what to think and how to think it. I need a rabbi who will take control over every aspect of my life because I simply don’t know any better.
The Chareidi world is not innocent victims in all of this. It’s like a pendulum, when it goes too far in one direction, it snaps back equally too far in the other direction.
The nut jobs in our world make it even worse, with attacking women on a bus (as if negiah in that instance doesn’t apply) and lets not forget the “Jewish Burka”. and the tznius patrol.
You can be reasonable within the bounds of Halacha and not have to alienate everyone. The Woman of the Wall are just a bunch of troublemakers, looking to tear down Torah ideals. When Chareidim say and do outrageous things, it plays right into the hands of the enemies of Torah.
Calling Frum people, who are members of Bayit Yehudi, “Goyim,” doesn’t help anyone and it’s a Chillul Hashem. (BTW, I didn’t vote for Bayit Yehudi, but that doesn’t mean I can’t call it as it is.)
#18 charvona – Pictures don’t tell the full story, Gedolei Yisrael do.
#20 GottaHaveEmunah – Where is your emunah? Only in your name? Ein Od Milvado, there’s ONLY Hashem. It is a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisrael so of course the yetzer hara will try and dissuade us from doing so.
Regardless as I say, this is just a blip on the radar and nothing more. This government won’t last and even if it does see out it’s term, what of it? What is done can always be reversed.
#1. You are correct, the Gedolim are vindicated as “no good end has come by establishing a secular state,” but I must add that is all due to the Charadim. With out the Charedim the STATE would do just fine . BTW If it was not for this STATE all these Charedim would still be dying in Europe. Lets thank Hashem of this Yom Yerushaliam that He has brought back all the Jews to live together in this Eretz Hkadosha of ours.
#12 Why don’t we just put the men UNDER the bus and the women IN the bus.
#17 You can never tell what the future holds. Only Hashem knows. Many so called Charedim have gone off the Derech with or with out knowing of Western Civilization “Do not trust in yourself until the day you die.” So don’t be quick to judge.
of course I agree that there should be busses for the charedi people but tell me do the shops have seperate times for yeshiva bochurim and seminary girls like they do in Gateshead in England otherwise known as yershulaim de Anglia I don’t think so maybe you should do this as well
So, they banned mandatory separated seating on PUBLIC buses.
You want a “mehadrin” bus? Pay for a private one. The rest of the country doesn’t have to pay for your unsubstantiated chumra.
#12
man is prohibited to sit behind woman
#10
who do the zionists have more the jews or arabs?
#25
if not for the state many more would’ve been granted british entry entry into palestine of then.
It’s not just hareidi fanatics who feel people of one gender should avoid unwanted touching people of a different gender.
—– Was this post about TOUCHING or SITTING? I don’t want a female or surely a male to engage in unwanted touching.
#27 In Israel’s “democracy” private buses are not legal. Only Egged can have the monopoly over the buses, believe it or not. That’s the problem as MDshweks wrote earlier.
Der mensh tracht in G-ot lacht,
look at the old trouble makers,
at the end they were crying but not admitting
that the almighty punishes,
its only a matter of time,
#28
First of all, mehechi taisi?
Second of all, they wouldn’t be directly behind the women. There is a mixed section for couples in the middle of the bus (and the double buses there is the accordion section in the middle).
I like how akuperma constantly states “we” this and “we” that as if he is part of the chareidim that these issues will affect. Does he live in E”Y? No, of course not. Too goyish.
I’m surprised he forgot to bring up the human rights violation issue.
#34
Talmud Brahot, Shulkhan Arukh, and finally a letter by R. Shtaiman.
as per mixed section probably for the under-educated or ….
Am I missing something? Is outright LH okay as long as we’re hiding behind usernames? Stop attacking each other. How can we expect tolerance if we can’t be tolerant of each other?
#36
I have learned Berachos. I don’t remember any such statement. You are going to have to be a more precise (i.e. what daf, in the SH”A what chelek and what siman). Where is this letter from R’Shteinman? When was it put out, before or after the tumult?