For some, the segregated sidewalk in Meah Shearim near Toldos Aaron on Sukkos is unforgiveable, and they are trying to make this the next front in the battle against a chareidi lifestyle.
Secularist activists on motzei Shabbos arrived in Meah Shearim, trying to march down the main street in a mixed group of men and women to decry the forced gender segregation.
It did not take long for residents to respond, and they began dumping garbage on marchers below. A large police force arrived in the hope of breaking up the incident before it got out of hand.
Neighborhood askanim expressed outrage over the chutzpa of the secularists, the daily HaMevaser reports, explaining how dare they attempt to interfere in the lifestyle of this community which adheres to the words of Rabbonim Shlita and a lifestyle in line with Toras Yisrael.
On Sukkos, Jerusalem Councilwoman Rachel Azarya once again petitioned the High Court of Justice against the Meah Shearim lifestyle, leading to a court decision banning the move next year on Sukkos and demanding a city permit to permit the barrier, unwilling to accept a permit from local police, as was the case this year.
Police confirm that a group of secular protestors arrived on Shivtei Yisrael Street on motzei Shabbos and that police arrived in a timely fashion and quickly acted as a barrier between the sides.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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19 Responses
I wish I was there to watch.
Given the goal of zionism always has been to stamp out Torah, such protests are to be expected. The whole reason d’etre of the hilonim is to destroy us. While we might someday be able to reach an agreement with the Muslims, there is no hope of long term peaceful coexistence with those persons of Jewish ancestry whose belief system dictates the eradication of a lifestyle based on Torah and Mitsvos.
I’m glad the garbage was enough to scare those thugs out.
Are the people who threw garbage adhering to the words of Rabbonim Shlita as they do it?
Apukerma, the goal of the Zionists is to have a save haven for the Jews. What you wrote is a Brisker accusation which has no basis in reality.
These anti-charedi. Seculars will Never Win in Meah Shearim, they picked the wrong neighborhood
To: MDD
I suggest you read Perfidy by Ben Hecht (the famous Hollywood producer – not a Brisker by any means). Banned by every Israeli government until PM Begin’s, it proves the goals of those who wanted to form a Secular State for the Jewish people. I also suggest you read about the Yaldei Teiman.
mdd: Read the zionists own speeches and writings. They are rather explicit. And they state as akuperma said.
#6- if they can get the government to start arresting hareidim for being hareidim in Meah Shearim, they can use the police anywhere in Israel to persecute frum people – they see us as a pest to be erradicated (cf. attitudes of Germans towards Jews in the 1930s).
Its time to stop the sinas chinom. We have to differentiate between secular zionism and jewish chilonim. Each zionist has a pinktele yid in him that can be ignited to genuine yidishkeit.
Such a Jew that has garbage dumped on him will have a hard time not hating religious Jews and thus Judaism.
Imagine if the protestors would have been welcomed to Mea Shearim with cookies and cold drinks as fellow yidden. Perhaps there would have been a different image.
Let it be known, it is NOT only the Secular Activists who are against this ridiculous segregation and make shift mechitza, rather many residents, visitors and frum people.
It is time for the Meah Shearim extremists to find a Yishuv to live in which they can gate closed and live the way they desire, as Kiryat Yoel or New Square. The situation now does not allow these city streets to be barred or barricaded from one gender or the other.
the todos aron-niks dont go protesting in middle of tel aviv. its their neighborhood. buzz off. leave them alone. and mdd- please- zionists cut off taimani kids payos and fed them traif on yom kippur. their goal is not a safe haven for jews.
But they did win as they did on Motzei Yom Tov. Kikar Shabbos and Meah Shearim were crawling with police, anti-terrorist forces and soldiers. The chilonim want to make us feel like strangers in our own back yard. They don’t care if they do it by marching through the neighborhood in beach wear or hey have us hemmed in by the police and army. If they were simply ignored they would get fed up and go away. Throwing diapers at them and screaming at them gives them the strength they need to make a fuss and get the local and international media involved. If the locals who were interviewed could resist the urge to tell the world how terrible it was to have half naked women in the street, when the reporters and the listeners don’t have the faintest idea what we mean they were dressed just like them, and instead say, I really didn’t notice them, I hope they enjoyed being here, the news stations would get fed up with them very quickly.
I would like to have a little more context on this story, since I’m unfamiliar with Meah Shearim and Israeli politics in general.
Is the sidewalk in question a major thoroughfare that secular people, who eschew gender separation, would generally utilize in their day-to-day lives, or is this pathway something that only religious people would ordinarily have access to and use for? Also, do the protesters see themselves as campaigners for their own rights as secularists, or as champions for the rights of, say, religious women that they believe are are being oppressed by religion men in the form of this sidewalk segregation? Also, are these protesters marching on the Temple Mount, where the government empowers Islam to squelch all but Muslim religious observances, or are their egalitarian sensibilities aroused exclusively to discriminate against Jewish religious observance?
#14 ItsFun:
No. Meah Shearim is a very Ultra Orthodox neighborhood and not anywhere in the secular areas. These immoral half undressed prutzim came special to Meah Shearim to taunt the frum Jews living there.
First of all the medina was formed by socialist who wanted to control their own country; and they wanted it secular.
They did not want the frum or the sefardi. Second the same seculars who want to march in Meah Shearim will cover up to go the the Vatican; they would not want to insult the Pope but frum Jews who cares
12,13,15
Meah Shearim is a minute walk from Safra Square, the Russian Quarter and the large Municipality of Jerusalem. The streets of Strauss house the largest chupat cholim, hadassah bldg and ministry of education, it is NOT an ISOLATED area by any means. The storekeepers of Geulah and several of MS are against these extreme ways and attitudes.
MS is a throughfare that many visitors, frum and non walk thru on their way to Damascus Gate,,, most commentators are not being accurate. MS needs to service its own community with police, fire, and ambulance service if they are not interested in using the Municipality services.
5. Akuperma is correct especially when talking about the frei yiddin who’s religion is zionism. I would trust Torah U’mitzvos ‘accusation’ over anything krum any day!
Unfortunately, one should see the mingling of frum boys and girls mingling in Mea Shearim on Fridays, something i already commented about. These special holy people who live in Mea Shearim have a right to their privacy. Unfortunately, some of these chilonim get info and support from such who chose to leave the community (nebach). Some of these demonstrators have no problem following rules when they choose to nebach visit the Vatican but by their own, the Yidden it’s chaos. But perhaps instead of throwing garbage, a big pot of cholent would be available to offer them and speak to them nicely, more would be accomplished and it would be a kiddush Hashem rather than chilul Hashem.