Haredim Use Violence, Threats To Block Girl's School

A week ago the school's parents committee received a letter from Mayor Abutbul in which he said that he would not allow the girls to use the new school building in the coming academic year after receiving threats from the area's ultra-Orthodox residents. The threats of physical violence had been directed against both him and the girls, and he could not guarantee their safety, the mayor said in his letter, suggesting that the pupils be divided among the other schools in the city.

 

Haredi community thwarts school for Beit Shemesh girls
By Oz Rosenberg • Ha’aretz

Religious tensions hit a new high in Beit Shemesh yesterday when some 15 ultra-Orthodox men entered a religious elementary school for girls in Ramat Beit Shemesh B and refused to leave the premises. The ultra-Orthdox were protesting the presence of the girls near their homes in the Sheinfeld neighborhood, in which most of the residents are in fact of the nationalist-religious persuasion.

The Haredim are also claiming that Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbul had promised them in the past that a Talmud Torah (ultra-Orthodox elementary school ) for their children would be erected on the site.

While Abutbul denies making a promise of any sort to either of the sides, the Education Ministry insists that it did indeed authorize the school's operation at the site, and that the "Orot Neria National Religious School will begin the school year together with the education system in general on this coming Thursday."

The ultra-Orthodox men entered the school in the very early hours of the morning, and when parents of the schoolgirls got word of the incident, around 100 of them turned up at the scene in an effort to remove the invaders. Physical confrontations ensued, and police were eventually called in to break up the fracas and evict the ultra-Orthodox from the building.

The ultra-Orthodox's opposition to the school began some 18 months ago, when work on the new school building at the site was started. The construction nevertheless continued, with financial assistance from both the Beit Shemesh municipality and the Education Ministry.

A week ago, however, the school's parents committee received a letter from Mayor Abutbul in which he said that he would not allow the girls to use the new school building in the coming academic year after receiving threats from the area's ultra-Orthodox residents.

The threats of physical violence had been directed against both him and the girls, and he could not guarantee their safety, the mayor said in his letter, suggesting that the pupils be divided among the other schools in the city.

"The mayor is in fact saying: 'The mighty rule. I am not willing to make a decision even though there is a legal ruling that says the structure is yours,'" said Esti Moskowitz, who chairs the parents committee at the school. "The threats the mayor received come from a small group in Beit Shemesh and all the institutions are afraid of it, a group of radicals who are currently controling the city.

"They want the entire city to be ultra-Orthodox. Great! Tomorrow, they will tell me I need to wear a wig, and that my son has to wear long pants. Who will stop them then?"

Following the eviction of the ultra-Orthodox men from the school building, around 1,500 people staged a demonstration at the site to protest what they defined as "blackmail on the part of a handful of people who represent themselves only." The protesters vowed not to give in to the threats and intimidation of the ultra-Orthodox, and also harshly criticized the Beit Shemesh mayor for giving in to their threats.

Comments

[Korbendallas72]

It's not our way.

No wait, yes it is.

[Redicilous]

Doesn't anyone have a real job or a place to go there.

[batyahgirl@yahoo.com]

Shonda for the goyim.

[Alter Kocker]

The mayor is an ass, better he calls out the police and fire brigade to dowse the black hatted bastards with fire hoses and rubber bullets.

Under the Netanyahu governing methods, caving-in to the radical ultra-orthodox is becoming a cancer on the country.

[george]

Seems the various news sources give a variety of spins:

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=235936

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4115422,00.html

What I want to know is the meaning of "The threats of physical violence had been directed against both him and the girls". Were these threats in writing? Verbal? Addressed to whom? Isn't the making of a threat already a criminal act in itself, especially when minors are involved?

[seymour]

i assume these heridie protesters do not work do not pay taxes what chupzha that they think the building should be for them

[Dr. Dave]

Looks like its time for the little rock or Old Miss of Israel to take place.

[Mendy Hecht]

First of all, most Israeli local media on the ground out there is secular and rather anti-religious in nature, so any report from Israel can safely be assumed to be biased against the religious (and the more religious the subject, the more the bias) population.

Secondly, these people do not represent the Orthodox community as a whole. These are fringe extremists and radicals.

Thirdly, there is surely another side to the story that's not being reported here. Hotheaded fanatics, definitely--but even serial killers have reasons for what they do ("my mother beat me" or "the voices told me to do it"), so I'm sure these unwise men do too.

[Adam Neira]

Tsk, tsk, tsk...

[Yissy-CA]

Secondly, these people do not represent the Orthodox community as a whole. These are fringe extremists and radicals.

You are right mendy. That is why they are labeled as Hereidim/Hassidim.

[Yissy-CA]

Mendy here is what your community is up to in Israel: http://collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=16082&alias=photos-to-snag-untznius-women

[Pierre]

A Charedi rabbi I knew of in an early jewish day school in California that had a moderate dress code (knee-length skirts and mid-bicep sleeves for women), used to stand by the door greeting students - if a young woman had a skirt with a high slit in it or a shirt that was too open or had a low top button, he'd smile, hand them a safety pin and say something like "I'll let you decide where you think it should go". He had the derech eretz and respect enough towards the students that he let them take part in the decision to abide the dress code their parents agreed to, when they sent THEM there.

[Pierre]

scratch that, posted to wrong post.