Haredim Riot In Beit Shemesh

Police forces accompanied by Beit Shemesh municipal inspectors removed public signs calling for segregation between men and women in the city on Sunday. This prompted dozens of haredim to crowd around the officers. They hurled stones and cursed the officers. Some haredim called police "Nazis."

Haredim riot in Beit Shemesh after segregation signs removed
Dozens of haredim riot, hurl stones as officers, municipal inspectors remove signs calling for women's exclusion; some signs already put back up; municipality to install hundreds of security cameras
Yair Altman • Ynet

Police forces accompanied by Beit Shemesh municipal inspectors removed public signs calling for segregation between men and women in the city on Sunday. This prompted dozens of haredim to crowd around the officers. They hurled stones and cursed the officers. Some haredim called police "Nazis." There were no reports of injury.

Earlier on Sunday, Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbul held a meeting on the matter in his chambers. His order to remove the signs was carried out at 5 pm when the streets were meant to be empty of people due to the lighting of Hanukkah candles. Nevertheless, several haredim rioted and hurled stones in protest.

Some of the signs were put up again later in the day by local haredim.

Abutbul strongly condemned "the radical fringes of the haredi sector who tarnish the reputation of all Beit Shemesh residents. "

However, he claimed that every city has radical groups who break the law, "but no one thinks to blame the rest of the population for this, just as no one  blames Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat for violence in Mea Shearim."

On Friday Channel 2 reported that a haredi resident of Beit Shemesh spat on eight-year-old Naama Margolis because she was not dressed "modestly" enough in his eyes.

"I am no longer afraid. My mother is more afraid than I am. I just want the fanatics to leave Beit Shemesh," the girl said Sunday.

Her mother added: "The exclusion of women from the public sphere makes my blood boil. They (haredim) are trying to take us back to dark eras; this is a grave injustice."

President Shimon Peres also addressed the issue. Speaking at an IDF candle-lighting ceremony in Latrun, the president said "the people's army is an army which calls on all girls and boys to serve. All male and female soldiers share equal rights and duties, with no preferences or discrimination."

The Beit Shemesh Municipality has decided to install between 300 and 400 security cameras throughout the city as part of the efforts curb ultra-Orthodox rioting.

"The mayor has declared a strict policy against extremist haredim. After so much effort has been invested in trying to negotiate with them, it is time to use the other end of the whip," a city councilman said.

The security cameras were meant to be installed in any case as part of the "City without violence" project initiated by the municipality.

Kobi Nahshoni contributed to this report.

Comments

[PrettyBoyFloyd]

Sick puppies.

[KJ]

The Beit Shemesh Municipality has decided to install between 300 and 400 security cameras throughout the city as part of the efforts curb ultra-Orthodox rioting.

Mazel Tov! This was suggested before that the govt should make much more use of technology to clean up and control some of the problems at hand. They should also install cameras in the old city of Jerusalem to put a stop to the spitting on priests.

The use of decoys should also be deployed to expedite the cleanup process.

The technology is there - USE IT!

[ah-pee-chorus]

the term riot should be euphemized by "charedize". its what they do when other people try to protect their rights from being trampled upon by charedim.

CHAREDIM CHAREDIZE IN BEIT SHEMESH.

thats self-explanatory.

[Ruthie]

But they all look the same

[Waiting4Moshiach]

So which would you rather live in, a police state or a torah state? I know where I want to be.

[ruthie]

shmarya get this dd off/fini

[seymour]

Posted by: dd | December 25, 2011 at 07:35 PM

screw yourselves you frum dirt bag

all Jews died in the holocaust they where not killed because they where frum they where killed because they where born Jews

the myth that the frum where killed because they where frum ends now

[WoolSilkCotton]

One of the religious women in those Holocaust photos had her forearms bare. Her brazen lack of tznius is what must have been the reason for the Holocaust.

[KJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD8IDGRtHfE

Very moving, not exactly in the spirit of the holiday festivities, but then again, we must never forget.

For further research here is the definitive source - a collection of 90,000+ photos.

http://collections.yadvashem.org/photosarchive/en-us

[catcher50]

@Waiting4Moshaich...2 choices:

1. Well trained (probably underarmed), police force, overseen by a hierarchy, with responsibility to those they oversee and answerable to those who oversee them. This police force is charged with enforcing laws passed by a legal (or maybe sometimes semi legal) legislative body.

2. These Torah state types are using mob rule to enforce rulings by old men with absolutely no responsibility to anyone but themselves and their personal interpretation of God's words.

Thanx, I'll go with the police state every time.

[Ruthie]

WSC
Me too Essex

[WoolSilkCotton]

Ruthie, born in Newark?

I am guessing you are not old enough to have attended Weequahic High School. I will guess Columbia in Maplewood/South Orange.

[adams]

hopefully they will jail these haredim crimnials for long prison terms, hard labour.

[adams]

also the Mayor is wrong, it's not the radical fringe, this is mainstream hareidi idiology this is how they think of there Jews.

This is nothing new really.
When they can, they yell at women, Shiksa, PRutzah, Kurva. I heard this in Beis Yisroel neighborhood where I lived in the 1980's.

This particular escalation started with the mo school in the area and the american residents claiming to take a stand rather than cave in, I don't see what stand they are taking that is, ultimately these people have to work for a living and can't confront these criminals each and every day, the kollel learners have plenty of time to spit on little girls, frum Shomer Shabbos girls no less.

[Ray Drecker]

This is big! It is on Drudge, BBC etc. It will force Bibi to do something about it. Faster PLZ

[Truth Teller]

Bash a few Haredi heads in and the Rabbis will call them off. Such a simple solution.

[ruthie]

WSC
not exactly
close
bet our families knew each other

[Malka Gittel]

You can see the lack of education among these people to call protecting people's rights "Nazi". They have no clue what the word even means. There is nothing wrong with Haredim that can't be cured with soap, water, and an education. (I hope.)

[ruthie]

i also saw it on drudge ray

[rebeljew]

Malka Gittel

This battle is extremely important. Please don't mix in racial slurs about "soap and water". It only fuels their ability to win supporters to their claims of "anti-semitism".

The Haredi young people can be won over to reason from their radical elements, but not if they are convinced that they are under attack. The goal needs to be to isolate the radicals, not to broad brush demonize. That is no better than what they do.