The wheels of justice are spinning at high speed in the case against a chareidi man who stands accused of spitting and cursing at a female soldier on an Egged Number 49 bus on Wednesday.
As was reported by YWN-Israel, the suspect was taken into custody after he was identified as the person who verbally assaulted and spat at a soldier when she refused to vacate her seat in the front of the bus.
The bus was traveling in a frum area of the capital, Ramat Eshkol, and it is customary for men to take a seat in the front and women in the rear, an unwritten custom among riders. According to state law, backed by recent Supreme Court rulings, this cannot be compelled upon those unwilling to cooperate and there are signs on buses stating just this; that one cannot compel anyone to move to another area of the bus.
Witnesses insist the suspect, 44-year-old Shlomo Fuchs is guilty, and statements released yesterday by the Jerusalem police chief signal he is all but convicted, even before the filing of the indictment, which took place this morning, Thursday, 3 Teves. Fuchs insists he did no such thing, backed by other witnesses on the bus.
The female soldier, Doron Matalon, told the media that this is not the first time a frum person has assaulted her on the bus, but this time, due to the political climate against chareidim and mehadrin lines, she felt that someone may actually listen and take action. She told the press that there wasn’t any room in the rear of the bus, but more than that, she decided she was not moving to “on principle”, insisting the suspect called her a “shiksa”, some other slurs, then spitting at her – and she has her fill of the abuse.
Rabbi Mordechai Blau Shlita told Kol Chai Radio that the suspect did nothing, adding he personally knows R’ Fuchs, calling him “a gem”, and “this is why he remains silent, not responding to the attacks against him in the media” Rav Blau explained.
An Egged inspector ordered the driver to pull over as he phoned police, who made the arrest.
The indictment, which was handed down in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, charges Fuchs with sexually harassing the soldier. Prosecutor Yair Nehorai explained this is a new avenue of sexual harassment but Justice Ilta Ziskind rejected his reasoning, insisting the current law does include such acts as harassment and there is no need to redefine the law.
The court has placed Fuchs under partial house arrest, permitting him to attend the Ahavas Shalom Yeshiva between 8:00am-7:00pm, after which he must remain home. He is also banned from any and all public transportation.
He is however compelled to undergo and evaluation which will determine if he must remain under total house arrest. That report will be submitted to the court.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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22 Responses
YWN – for shame!! I cannot believe you are posting this garbage and with this talmid chacham’s picture yet! Don’t you have any principles, such as not publishing lashon hara and motzi shem ra????? Have you examined the case and know it to be true? Would you publish a picture and a story of your brother, falsely accused of lowly behavior (or at the very least, unproven to be true)? Eye-witnesses say it is a big lie (included in this story) and that this man is a gem. I have also heard that he is a very fine talmid chacham. The woman herself admits that it was a deliberate provokation on her part.
I personally don’t know this man but I am appalled that you are pubicly humiliation him in the horrible way. What is a piece like this doing on your website?? Please remove it immediately.
what if a woman wants to enter the men’s section in a public shul – will she get her way too???
To all the haters out there of the multiple frum and non frum outlets that put out the original version of the story — Its one thing to be arrested on an incident that was fabricated- its another to get INDICTED!
AND this guy deserves whatever he gets — what rational/thinking person, in the middle of the FIRESTORM engulfing the entire country on this exact issue – would open his mouth in a public setting, to a Chayelet no less???
which just goes to show you that most people inciting violence and hatred are likely emotionally or mentally challenged -at minimum!
just the fact that this is moving so fast in the courts, to me is ample proof that the police have not even bothered to verify the story if it is true or not.
sick behaviour by sick people, and this time i am referring to the secular sector.
yes, i also cant condone the behaviour of those fanatics/extremists that behave in ways inappropiate to humans, but i think right now the situation is totally out of control…..
with the secular behaving even worse than the extremists!!!!
Sounds like Russia in the 1960’s, just disregard the eyewitness, arrest & convict to prove your agenda.
In this case its to prove that the so-called “Jewish”State, has nothing to do with Judaism….
How blind can you be ??
The basis on which the Zionists use to claim the land of Israel, is because it says so in the holy Torah.
Well they only care about this one mitzvah , but totally ignore & worse yet,try to eradicate the other 612 Mitzvos….
Is this considered being Jewish ??
The 2nd daas_yochid…
Are you really comparing a public bus to a shul?!?!
We are so disappointed in YWN for acting like a channel for rechilus and loshen hara. Why do you do this? If eye witnesses have come up to say that this fabrication is just that, why don’t YOU just say that and not embarrass this man and the “Chareidi” community with this kind of article. You are continuing to fan the flames of hatred towards those who are observant Jewish men by doing this type of ‘reporting’ “Wheels of Justice”??? Don’t you mean wheels of Injustice?
Lets think clearly. If this guy called her a shiksa and a few other choice terms and spit at her (not on her) I really don’t see why this is such a big story or why he even was arrested. In the US if you curse someone out (which undoubtedly occurs millions of times a day in the US) and spit at someone you wouldn’t get arrested for abuse. Its a low way to behave and a frum person shouldn’t act this way but all this media attention over a non story is ridiculous. Really what did he do already?!
Ive been a passenger on this bus numerous times there is no ‘unwritten ruling’ about where males and females sit.
#2 Were they in the middle of Tfillah B’tzabur? I have sat in the men’s and/or women’s sections during shiurim or meetings on several occassions at public shuls. HUH!!
oH sure like this could never happen, the spitters and curses are only in Beis SHemesh sure.
Sounds like Russia in the 1960’s, just disregard the eyewitness, arrest & convict to prove your agenda.
In this case its to prove that the socalled “Jewish”State, has nothing to do with Judaism….
How blind can you be ??
The basis on which the Zionists use to claim the land of Israel, is because it says so in the holy Torah.
Well they only care about this one mitzvah , but totally ignore & worse yet,try to eradicate the other 612 Mitzvos….
Is this considered being Jewish ??
Ladler, lehavdil a million times but we can also say that how can we “falsly” accuse Bin Laden because we don’t have complete eye witnesses to the case. nonsense. I am not appalled by the Yeshiva World Net.
ladler : Really that ‘s the route you are going…
If you claim that this is all a big lie and that the court system should not have indicted him – which by the way IS ALL PUBLICLY KNOWN then your are speaking loshon hara and being motzei shem ra against:
a) the chayelet
b) the bus driver who called the police
c) the arresting officers
d) the eye-witnesses that support the chayelet
e) the prosecutor
f) the judge
g) the entire Israeli judicial system
seems like a bad case of the pot calling the kettle black!
Now I have even more doubts on the accuracy of the soldier’s story. She sounds like she has an agenda. What would she do if she was ch’v around yishmaelim yemach sh’mom, run home & cry to the police as well?
all this yelling omits one item: we don’t know what he did or didn’t do! there are two sides to this story and all you screamers already know what nobody else does. How about waiting for the full investigation??
# 2, What does a shul have to do with a bus ?
#1- Hence the words “alleged” and “accused.” No one is saying he’s guilty, they’re only stating the facts of what he’s accused of. They’re also stating the facts in his favor, which is exactly what they should be doing. I’m afraid I miss which aveira you think they’ve done here. There’s no Loshon Hora and definitely no MS”R.
I said it yesterday this “woman” had an agenda. It also that the bus inspection just happen to be on that bus. It was a set up
#9 zion flag:
The bus was obviously a 49a, not 49 (which doesn’t go through Ramat Eshkol), and there most definitely is an “unwritten rule”. That’s why the BUS DRIVERS THEMSELVES open the back doors for the women to get on!
Love that when someone Charedi gets accused, it’s “alleged.” When it’s anyone else, it is assumed that they did indeed do it.
#13, none of the people you list are ריעך or עושה מעשה עמך. There is no such thing as loshon horo or motzi shem ra against them. In particular the Israeli judicial system is corrupt through and through, and every Israeli prosecutor and judge is bechezkas rosho. For that matter, anyone who knows about the state of morality in the IDF can tell you that chayalot are bechezkas prutzos.
Now that Reb Fuchs explained himself in the media, it is clear that Milhouse is right.