Slippery Slope

Haredi residents of Beit-Shemesh stoned a vehicle passing through town and broke one of its windows.  It is suspected that the female driver was attacked because her dress was deemed “immodest”. (Haaretz)

(Hebrew - Ynet)

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews protested on Thursday evening on a Beit Shemesh street, throwing rocks, blocking the road and burning trash cans.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering splitting Beit Shemesh into two municipalities – secular and Haredi, following the wave of tensions engulfing the city in the past few days.

Beit Shemesh mayor Moshe Abutbul said in 2008 that the new shopping center in the city would be open only to the Haredi community as far as he was concerned, saying “if a girl came to the center dressed provocatively it could cause quite a stir”.

(Hebrew)

Haredim from Beit Shemesh smashed the display window of a lingerie store in town.

(Hebrew)

In Beit Shemesh, dozens of Haredi men cursed and threw stones at municipal inspectors that removed signs ordering women to cross the street.

Channel 2 reporter, Shai Gal, and his film crew, were assaulted in Beit Shemesh while filming the harassment of women in the city.  The Jerusalem Police District has said that the journalists were attacked by several dozen Haredi men, and stones were thrown at their vehicle, which was damaged.  One of the crew members sustained a light injury to his hand and was treated by a Magen David Adom crew.

A Haredi resident of Beit Shemesh was arrested on suspicion that he spat at a 42 years old woman on the street. The suspect was released on bail.

Haredi men in Beit Shemesh spat on a 7 year old girl because, according to them, she passed them wearing “immodest clothing”.  The men were filmed spitting on women passing through the street, and according to local residents women in town are afraid of sitting in the front of buses.

(Hebrew)

A large sign near a Beit Shemesh synagogue calls for women to cross the street to the other side due to the area’s sensitivity.  The municipality is refusing to remove the sign, which has been in place for a long time, claiming that such an act would only increase the placement of such signs throughout the city.

(Hebrew)