The question is will the return of women to Jerusalem bus ads signal the new battlefront as chareidim and secularists fight to control the character of Yerushalayim. The first advertisements with women were sponsored by the Yerushalmi Party in the city, a party which seeks to preserve the holy city as an open pluralistic city; one that is friendly to Jews, non-Jews, frum and secular alike.
After a long battle that included vandalism attacks against bus posters and bus stops, Egged decided to cease showing women in ads in the capital. It instructed the Cnan Company which sells the adverts to act in accordance with the policy decision. That led to shouts of discrimination against Egged since men appeared in ads but not women. The Yerushalmi Party turned to the Supreme Court on the basis of discrimination against woman. Egged responded with a new policy decision, to ban both men and women to eliminate fear of discrimination. This did not last long however. After the state agreed to make compensatory payment to Egged for the vandalism damage to buses, Egged capitulated. This paved the way for the return of women to the bus ads as the state promises Egged it will underwrite paying for damages to buses should vandalism attacks resume.
Yerushalmi proudly released a message, that “Jerusalem women, secular, religious, chareidi, Jewish and Arab are proudly displayed without discrimination or censor on buses in the capital of Israel…”
Many believe the extremist elements in the chareidi tzibur will view the renewal of bus ads with men and women appearing, at times in a less than modest fashion, will mark the renewal of vandalism attacks.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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11 Responses
They stopped about 25 years ago when the Minchas Yitzchak and Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zatzal, agreed that if they continued they would personally go and tear them down and let the police put them in jail and face the wrath of their followers. Let’s see what happens this time.
Do you call this “friendly to chareidim”?
The seculars own the buses, and use the coercive power of the state to prevent independent competition. A boycott would be effective (its a tool Blacks used to force the majority in the south to see things their way), but is this an important enough issue to make a fuss over (as opposed to matters such as banning Torah schools, conscripting yeshiva students, perhaps restricting Bris Milah, banning hareidi kashrus, etc.).
Eh.. posting sephiras ha’omer was declared illegal and taken down
Ah..Rachel azaria and her ilk are back
Dati being more secular than the secular
Well,Modesty is primitive and has zero place in the 21st century!
And anyone who disagrees should surely be sent to the gulag
😉
many believe the extreme elements????? ALL G-D FEARING JEWS I SUPPOSE THEY MEAN
Me think the new ad with the women is quite modesty and b’taam.
25 years ago is a pure dreamer!!
Really really if we put TORAH LIFESTYLE as no. 1 goal… Then these issues are less than water in the bucket!
It seems to me as though both sides are fighting a petty argument. Plus neither side is entirely right. Buses and public property should never be vandalized. When I think of vandalism, I think of inner city Chicago, or New York. Frum Yidden in Eretz Yisrael should never stoop to such lows. Perhaps, since the bus company wants to make money on the ads, the frum community can buy the ads before the seculars. Or, perhaps there can be modesty standards for the bus ads. I recently read that in some small, old-fashioned towns, bus ads must be “family friendly”. Maybe a similar tactic could work here?
Whenever chareidim have attempted to start their own bus service ,the bus companies will given backing to use “carrot and stick” to keep them on board (pun).
Hard to believe that grown men can’t handle seeing a picture of a woman on a bus. I guess the only thing for them to do is to stay indoors 24/7 and let their wives and daughters run all the errands.
it is inappropriate and offensive to display immodestly dressed people in ads in Jerusalem-there has to be some recognition that this is a holy city for many faiths
Who said anything about grown men? Bachurim ride these buses too.