Woman Forced From Circus Stage By Haredi Complaint

A female audience member who was invited to participate in a circus performance held in a largely secular town was forced to leave the stage after a haredi woman in the audience complained.

 

Female volunteer removed from circus stage after Haredi woman protests
Ultra-Orthodox woman found female audience member's participation in show offensive; Modi'in residents angered by 'unacceptable' act.
By Ilan Lior • Ha’aretz

A female audience member who was invited to participate in a circus performance in Modi'in on Sunday was removed from the stage after a religiously observant viewer complained.

Rafi Vitis, an acrobat and host of "The Shambuki Show," at the city's Anabe Park, consented to the request of an ultra-Orthodox woman who found the participation of women offensive. He invited a male volunteer to replace the teenage girl, but was forced to suspend the show for a few minutes because other members of the hundreds-strong audience objected to the switch.

"Instead of enjoyable time out with the family we received an alarming example of how normal it has become to take women off stage and marginalize them in the public sphere, even in a city like Modi'in where the population is not predominantly Haredi, and where Haredi politics don't prevail," a religiously observant resident said. "It was striking to see such a flagrant case of exclusion of women from the public sphere. Here in Modi'in, it is unacceptable. It's another example of the deterioration of civil liberties in Israel."

Vitis said that after inviting the woman to help him in one of his acts he was caught in a difficult situation and had to make a decision quickly, even though he is in favor of women participating in his show.

"During the show, a Haredi woman approached me and asked me, very politely, if I could carry on without the girl, out of consideration for the feelings of most of the people watching," Vitis told Haaretz. "I decided to continue the act with a male volunteer. I was trying to do my best to show consideration for their sensibilities and didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings."

Avi Elbaz, chairman of the anticlerical association Free Modi'in, said the city must not condone the exclusion of women. "The incident with the acrobatic show didn't take place in Modi'in Illit, Ramat Beit Shemesh or another Haredi city. If it doesn't suit you to see women on stage, don't come. It's unbelievably rude to go to a show in a secular city and make these demands. This place is not owned by the Haredim," Elbaz said.

The Modi'in city council said in a statement: "As soon as the incident was brought to the attention of the director of cultural activities he rushed to the scene and gave a specific order that it was unacceptable and that the show would go on as usual. Afterward we circulated specific instructions that all changes to shows at Anava Park cannot be approved by anyone other than the city council."

Anabea Park has been the site of previous clashes between secular residents of Modi'in and Haredim from nearby communities, mainly during the intermediate days of the Pesach and Sukkot holidays.

Last year secular residents as aked the park to start charging nonresidents in an attempt to discourage Haredim from neighboring communities. The city council refused, saying it would be illegal. But during the intermediate days of Sukkot last year the city council organized festival at Anava Park for residents only.

[Hat Tips: APC, Moshe in Israel.]

Comments

[Reb Mendel]

Torah makes the same demands on the secular as it does on the frum. There is no difference. If the seculars dont like what happened here maybe they should move to Park Slope but even then the rules are the same for everyone everywhere and they all come from Hashem!

[SkepticalYid]

Sure, let all the secular and daati leave. The economy would collapse overnight.

[Jeff]

"During the show, a Haredi woman approached me and asked me, very politely, if I could carry on without the girl, out of consideration for the feelings of most of the people watching," Vitis told Haaretz.

Why the F*CK was she there in the first place? In which universe is it not assur for a Haredi - and a woman, yet - to attend a circus?

I swear they make up these rules on the fly.

[Jeff]

Posted by: Reb Mendel | April 12, 2012 at 09:01 AM

You weren't funny when you were Waiting 4 Moshiach, and you aren't funny now.

[AztecQueen2000]

There are a lot of things in this world I object to. I personally avoid them. I don't show up and make a stink about it. (This comment is directed at those who wanted the girl off the stage.)

[Bassy the Haredi Slayer]

Modi'in is a pleasant town where religious and seculars were living in relative harmony. (This is not Modi'in Illit which is haredi town). I have no doubt that the trouble making woman is one of those idiot BTs who hang in Modi'in

[Gevezener Chusid]

she was most certainly a BT; otherwise she wouldn't have asked "very politely".

@Jeff: FYI it is less of an issur for a woman to attend a circus than for a man to do so. For a man it is 1) bitul torah and 2) there are issues of tzniyus. Women are not forbidden from watching men perform in the same way men are forbidden from watching women. I don't know how it was in the old days but I know that 30 years ago, frum women would often go to these things (in NYC) sometimes with their daughters and small sons, while men stayed home. In their world women are relatively more secularized than the men.

[Gevezener Chusid]

Reb Mendel, perhaps you should visit Park Slope some time and talk to the Jews in the orthodox shul there. It might give you a more open mind (although you would have to have a mind altogether before you could have an open one.)

[12345]

Sounds to me like she made a polite request for a personal favor and the director decided to accommodate. It doesn't sound like a major protest or boycot happened. The secular Israeli media is becoming increasingly hypersensitive making a story out of every little thing they can interpret as a threat (this is probably true in the reverse too). these stories to me are like the so called racial stories being pushed by the likes of Al Sharpton and some media outlets.

[seymour]

the herdiem are full of shit they only want issues to go their way (I know I was black hat one time )

for example many people are offended by fur. the same people who want to exclude a woman in a circus act and say, please it is offense to us have some respect.

however when they offend people they ask and get exemptions to import fur (most likely they are sinning because of tzar ball h'chaim, but remember stupid tradition supersede the Torah)

hey why blame the herdiem if the secular are giving in all the time. however, it will come a time when that will end and it will not be pretty

[seymour]

what chuzpha this lady has does she even know what she did. she made that man hear a woman's voice and maybe god forbid the man looked at her.

She will burn in hell for making a man sin like that

for shame

what to guy should have done is simply ignore her, and say sorry kol isha I do not hear you

[MoishieCohen]

Can I make a small observation/pose an honest question?

I am from England. To the best of my knowledge, I have never encountered such an incident. What about America? Does it happen there?

Is it just an Israeli thing...and if so, why?

There is something seriously wrong with this kind of behaviour

[Nigritude Ultramarine]

How about averting your eyes for that part of the show if it's so offensive?

[hassid]

I think that it is interesting for some Haredim to see women in the circus because that's the most you'll see of a woman that year. It should be a new minhag to make a meshana habriyos on the women and negroes at the chol hamoed circus and spend the rest of the year on kavei mehadrin or in the beis medrash. Having a woman at the circus is tznius lemehadrin!!

[Happy]

Ultra-Orthodox woman found female audience member's participation in show offensive

Interesting, usually it is the men that find things like this offensive. I guess this proves that the haredi women themselves want the segregation chumras.

[jancsibacsi]

Gevezener Chusid -You can wipe youre tohes with all youre retardet asuurim and with youre kind of toireh you are trying to dominate others who arent like you youre making a mockery out of peoples daily lifes.

[jancsibacsi]

Gevezener Chusid -Sorry wasnt meant for you only to those who are always coming with excuses from toreh bringing in their 2 sense with all the assurim.

[yechi ben levitas]

if i only knew what to convert to, as i cannot associate any longer with these bigotted jews who are no better than their muslim counter parts. I want to say b7unch of c...., but will settle for fruitt cakes instead.

[Gevezener Chusid]

Jancsibacsi - I didn't say I hold from the rules - i was just explaining what they are.

Kutyafasza

And have a good yontef.

[jancsibacsi]

Gevezener Chusid -Nem kutya hanem lofasza:)
you also have a good yontef

[Yaakov]

MoisheCohen:

A case like yours is one of the saddest for me. You are clearly well educated, rational, and reasonable. All things that make you anathema to the charedi thought leaders.

You imagine that by defending charedim you are defending Torah, but you are not. You have a community that you can feel safe in, now. But, everything is moving to the right. It is a structural effect, a concomitant of the hashkafa. That you are not affected by it is a matter of social insulation, that, in the end, will not be sufficient to shield you, or your children, or your grandchildren from the pernicious effects of this extra-halachic nonsense.

These things don't happen in your community, yet. But, as with all these things they will be turned into "pious acts" by the apologists, and eventually, chumrot, then the normative halacha. In turn the halacha will become kulot and heterim, then aveirot in the purity cult frenzy.

UNLESS people like you stand up for normative orthodoxy and bravely reject this claptrap that is being called Torah.

[ghj]

Issues like this should be governed by the market, not by the law or the police. If the circus can earn more money from the charedim, no woman. If they will lose money from the chilonim. then no charedim. The police MUST enforce the decision of the owners, whatever that is. Mob rule has to end.

[Bassy the Haredi Slayer]

It reminds me a circus joke:

Moishe the clown was called to the circus manager office where he was told , 'we need to let you go, we found another person to entertain the crowd" . Moishe asks "what can she do that I cannot do?" The manager takes him to the stage and shows him a tall blond with skimpy clothes and tall black boots waving a whip over a lion. The lion then goes to her, kisses her boots and lays his head on them. The manager then asks Moishe "Could you do it?" , Moishe answers "Sure, just take out the damn lion"

[k]

I was on the subway in NYC and the conductor was a woman and when she made announcements I started a protest. AMERICA.

[David]

People need to stop giving in to Charedi demands. It only empowers them and leads to ever more outrageous demands.

[Eli, what me messiah?]

It's just envy. The haredi are a circus of their own. They resent others usurping their public role of clowns.

[Sol]

F"ck orthodoxy, it is the most rediculious crap on earth, they worship your money. Haters 0 education, equivalent to a rival gang.