Girl Thrown Out Of Orthodox High School For Working With Boys

Efrat Daniel, an 18-year-old from Dimona, has been sitting at home for the past three months instead of going to the Shalhevet HaDarom High School in the city. The reason: The institution has declared that Efrat's decision to work at a fast food chain alongside members of the opposite sex is against the school code.

 

Girl expelled from school – for working with boys
Efrat spent her summer vacation working at a fast food chain; her school says she broke its modesty code and has expelled her in the middle of her senior year. 'What was her crime for goodness sake?' asks her mother
Ilana Curiel • Ynet   

Efrat Daniel, an 18-year-old from Dimona, has been sitting at home for the past three months instead of going to the Shalhevet HaDarom High School in the city. The reason: The institution has declared that Efrat's decision to work at a fast food chain alongside members of the opposite sex is against the school code.
 
The school blames the student's parents for not committing to the school's modesty code and for showing disdain for the situation. The student claims that her return to school was tied to a condition – that she attend a seminar for girls after graduation, something which would prevent her from going to national service.

Efrat's story was reported on 'Radio South'. Her mother Shlomit who sees herself as someone who is "getting closer to religion," noted that her daughter is going through a major crisis. "Why did they throw her out of school? For working over her summer vacation? This situation has really hurt us all. When all her school friends were taking the annual school trip, my daughter was at home crying."

The mother claims that her daughter agreed not to go back to work but was required to catch up on all the missed work by herself and commit in writing to going to a seminar. "In December they found out she had worked and they told her to go home," said the mother. "Since then she's been at home and depressed for three months. I don't think it's a problem to work at a mixed place, I mean, our daily lives are mixed."
 
The mother then added: "I no longer intend to send her back to school."
 
"The municipality has tried to send her back and today I was asked to come to a meeting on the matter. Now they want her to go back? What has she done? What was her crime for goodness sake? I want to fight back so that they don't do this to other girls. Purim is supposed to be the happiest time at school, but this Purim my little girl is crying and I'm crying with her."
 
Efrat said that the whole matter "was very aggravating. Why did they expel me for something like that? It was over summer vacation and now they make the decision to expel me. It really hurt me. It's very hard to be at home for three months, no trips, no Purim."

In light of her bleak situation Efrat decided that instead of sitting at home she is rejoining the workforce. "Sitting at home just makes me depressed," she explained.

Rabbi Yaakov Hemed, who stands at the head of the Shalhevet HaDarom School, said in response that "the school has a code and both mother and daughter have signed it. We are committed to all the other parents. When one girl does something that is in direct contrast to the code, we speak to her and if needed, suspend her from school for one or two days or more."

The rabbi denied that the student was forbidden from enlisting in the national service as a condition to her return to the school.

"I have not heard of anything like that. After graduation the girl is allowed to do whatever she likes. We lead the girls in the spirit of Beit Yaakov to continue to seminars and don't push them in the direction of national service. Last year we had a few girls who went to national service. Nothing happened."

The Dimona municipality said in response that "the girl's mother came to the education department of the municipality and with the help of a clerk reached an agreement that stated that the girl would be able to return to school if she left her job. Now we have been led to understand that the school is asking for an additional condition. We will do everything it takes to help put the girl back into an educational framework."

Comments

[philip]

Lucky her!

[Garnel Ironheart]

If it's true that the mother and daughter both signed an agreement then it's difficult to side with them.

[rebitzman - driving the world crazy, one person at a time (group discouts available)]

OK - we do have the obvious question of how a state funded institution can do this, but the additional question of why the woman didn't re-enroll her daughter into another school also deserves an answer.

[Sarek]

She can't work alongside boys. It could lead to dancing.

[seymour]

Last year we had a few girls who went to national service. Nothing happened."

he should be ashamed that only a few went. But my guess is he is more ashamed that a few went

[Yochanan Lavie]

The problem isn't boys, the problem is working...

[GN]

Good one YL, made me laugh.

[Steven W]

And she will set a bad example..... Not for other girls but for boys. They might decide to earn a living.

[Shoshi]

I am surprised this is considered news. Stuff like this is commonplace. Perhaps some people are just finding out about it.

(Reminds me of the joke about the gentile boy who comes out of church on Easter and beats up the first Jewish boy he sees, declaring, "That's for killing Jesus!" the Jewish boy protests, "But that happened 2000 years ago!" to which the gentile replied, "Well I just found out about it!")

[dh]

Working! Boys! And milk is the gateway drug to marijuana which we all know leads to heroin.

[sephardic(ex-judaism)]

is this a public funded school or a private religious school?

[western jew]

The 'orthodox' can be ortho-rotton.

[tonda]

So passing herpes to a baby isn't considered a health issue, but girls giving boys cooties is...

[Jeff]

the additional question of why the woman didn't re-enroll her daughter into another school also deserves an answer

Seriously. Neither seems to realize this is probably the best thing that could have happened to her.

If the mother is merely "getting closer to religion", why is she sending her to a Haredi school? She sounds unbalanced.

[Ahavah]

"the additional question of why the woman didn't re-enroll her daughter into another school also deserves an answer"

And pay for it with what? Schools are not free in Israel - and the orthodox will not consider the state schools at all. She already spent tens of thousands of dollars on a private girl's high school tuition. Where is she supposed to come up with more for a new school? The old one will absolutely not refund any of her money.

[Shmarya]

Schools are not free in Israel - and the orthodox will not consider the state schools at all.

That isn't true. And most haredi schools are actually paid for by the state, as well.

[Russian PhD]

This is good demonstration that MOs (or at least Israeli MOs) are NOT differ AT ALL from Haredim in their fundamentalism, but even more, they are MORE dangerous than Haredim, because:
a) in addition to religious fundamentalism, they are extreme-right nationalists
b) they successfully MIMIC to civilized people
Hidden internal enemy always more dangerous that the open one.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Women know that they are second class citizens, and sometimes even subhuman, in the orthodox world. And yet they insist on staying. So who's to blame?
Attention all orthodox women: If you remain in an organization that hates you and treats you like crap, you have no one to blame but yourselves.

[Melvin Bonzarelli]

18 years old? She should be home taking care of her fourteen children and collecting welfare from the state while her husband sits in shul all day contemplating his pipick.

[ruthie]

poor girl. i feel sorry for her.
all she wanted was to work. quite noble.
and what does she receive? she is attacked and made
to feel inferior, incompetent, and incapable.
i hope she's ok.

[zoobiemanyak]

She should participate in the "Slut Walk." That will show those naughty buggers!

[Mike]

@Russian Phd:

Your attempt to equate the MO with the Haredim is amusing. The vast majority of MO rabbis/educators would have no problem with girls working with boys at a resaurant. Haredim would not let girls near boys, and it would not even qualify as news. And the MO are not "the enemy," nor do they disguise themselves as legitimate citizens. You are clearly a Haredi apologist who simply wants to paint the Haredi with a less harsh shear of paint.

[red]

iF YOU ARE UNWILLING TO ABIDE BY SCHOOL RULES,FIND YOURSELF ANOTHER SCHOOL.
PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

[Jeff]

You are clearly a Haredi apologist who simply wants to paint the Haredi with a less harsh shear of paint.

Posted by: Mike | March 10, 2012 at 10:36 PM

He isn't Haredi. He's trying to make the point that under Haredi dominance, all of Orthodoxy has moved sharply to the Right over the past several decades.

[Mike]

@Jeff:

Orthodoxy has moved to the right significantly over the past few decades, this is true, but I think that saying the MO are "the enemy" doesn't help the case much. I viewed it as by calling them worse than Haredim because they "mimic" civilized people tries to downplay the Haredi role in Orthodox extremism, and shift the blame to the MO, who, while they may want to emphasize the "orthodox" too much over the last decade, are still nowhere near the level of alienation and insanity that is commonplace in most Haredi yeshivos, and are certainly not "the enemy."

[Been Thrown Out of Better Shuls]

So girls really do have cooties?