More than 4,000 people say they will attend a march in Beit Shemesh [Israel] this week to protest the exclusion of women and girls from the public sphere and the increasing Haredization of the city. The day, time and venue of the event have yet to be announced.
A number of times in recent weeks girls and women in Beit Shemesh have been been cursed and spit at, and even had rocks thrown at them, by members of the city's ultra-Orthodox community who claimed their dress was immodest.
A sign put up in the city center under the aegis of the municipality instructs women to use separate sidewalks and "walk quickly, without drawing a crowd and without talking to each other."
But it is the tears of a 7-year-old girl, broadcast on Channel 2's Friday-night news magazine this weekend, that is galvanizing thousands; only two days were needed for those 4,000 people to confirm their attendance at the march. Na'ama, who lives with her religiously observant family in Beit Shemesh, is afraid to walk the 300 meters between home and school because of the violence she has faced from Haredi men who say her clothes are too revealing.
66 comments
It just boggles the mind how stupidity of this magnitude can survive and even spread in today's world of space flight, internet, particle accellerators, advanced medicine and other wonderful things.
If these guys don't want to see immodestly dressed women, all they need to do stay in their homes 24/7 with the curtains drawn. That way they'll never have to see anything that offends them, and the women and girls will be able to go about their business without being spit on and abused.
In other words, it's not a woman's responsibility to keep a man's libido in check, it's his own responsibility. And if he is truly unable to do that, he needs to be shunned and locked away somewhere so he can't hurt anyone, like what is done with anyone else whose lack of impulse control leads to violence.
Wait a minute, so there are whole cities in Israel where females are not allowed to do anything except, basically, stay in the kitchen? Yup, Israel is on its way to becoming a theocracy, all right.
A 7 year old girl is "dressed too immodestly"? Someone needs psychological help because being tempted by a 7 year old is not normal at all. Even an adult has the human right to wear whatever she wants and be free from abuse. You can hate it, you can talk shit about women that do that, but the moment you harass or harm them (or even attempt to) you have crossed the line and deserve to be punished to the full extent of the law.
Yeah. Great way to maintain that post-Holocaust sympathy, Hasidim. When you alienate half of your sympathisers.
Then they wonder why modern Israel is becoming more & more secular? And why the more liberal rabbis are growing in number?
I watched the Nick Broomfield documentary "Sarah Palin: You Betcha!" on Channel 4 last night. Seems the ultra-orthodox Jews go by the same playbook as she does - the complete opposite of the original self-help manual by Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People":
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.
The women of Israel who stand up to these cunts will no doubt gain the sympathy that said Hasidim once had. PROTIP: Just as there is no excuse for Anti-Semitism, being Semites yourselves means you have even less right to exhibit bigotry towards others - least of all your own kind. Sexism = Anti-Semitism.
I'm glad they're starting to nip these fundies in the bud before they engulf the country! We Americans should have done this with our nuts years ago!
I believe in Freedom Of Religion but there should be exceptions when it comes to fanaticism. Embrace Reason or shut up I say! Fundies are filth! They are a cancer....THEY DESERVE NO RELIGIOUS RIGHTS!
Faith & Religion only works when paired with REASON! FAITH & REASON! ADAPT WITH THE TIMES!
This is not about Liberal vs. Conservative, even Conservatives can be sane & reasonable. This is about Normal People of Faith vs. Asuric, Demiurgic Psychopaths!
Fundies are an inhuman affront to Faith, Spirituality, Humanity, Country, MOTHER EARTH!
People have a right to believe or not believe! Equal Rights, Peace, Love & HARMONY for all folks whenever Theist, Atheist, Deist or Agnostic! Fundies amongst any of them, however, can SHOVE IT!
A sign put up in the city center under the aegis of the municipality instructs women to use separate sidewalks and "walk quickly, without drawing a crowd and without talking to each other."
Best way to draw attention to something is by saying don't draw attention to yourself.
Dear me. Usually I am careful to complain about the Abrahamic religions, not really specific religions. Usually this means Christianity and Islam. The Jews are usually not as bad, because at least they don't seek to proselytise or claim universality for their religion.
I'll also add, in previous courageous demonstrations, these sick fucks threw HUMAN FAECES at schoolchildren.
Yep, their own (presumably) shit.
Chimps and other primates do this, but the vast majority of humanity has evolved out of the habit. Ironic that a religion which insists on the 'divine' and special nature of humans makes its adherents behave like lower animals.
Well, I have been in Israel, and they´re exagerating. The reality is that in Tel Aviv and even Jerusalem, they don´t even talk to Christian or Muslims for fear of being in a facebook incident the next day.
These assholes are fucked in the melon. If they were behaving that batshit insane without hiding behind religion as their excuse, they would be locked in a rubber room where they belong.
The irony is, they are now out Fascist-ing the greatest enemy Judaism ever had. Dickhead envy?
"We have seen the enemy, and he is us!" - Walt Kelly
Lovely. A 7-year old is terrified of being harassed by ultra-orthadox Jews? I support the march wholeheartedly.
This, sadly, is proof that even Judaism has its lunatics.
After Carl Sagan died, his wife Ann Druyen said that one of Carl's main goals in the last years of his life was fighting against Fundamentalism in all its forms.
He was quite right to do so.
So, the Israeli branch of the Taliban movement is trying to enforce their very own theocratic apartheid.
Fuck respect. A person's freedom is limited by the freedom of others, and it's time to impress that upon these types in no uncertain terms.
Internet tough guys, unite! >:D
Israel has a serious problem, as a result of its Constitution...
I think the ultra-orthodox Jews are being very reasonable.
The almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth and all that is therein, he who is eternal, omniscient, and ubiquitous, is very concerned, among other minor details, about the female knee and how it must always remain covered in public.
God is also very strict about the shape of a man's hat, the length of his coat, of his beard, of his hair.
God's Chosen People have been kicked around for over a millenium and God is demonstrating his boundless strength and power by letting this happen.
God stands by idly while millions of his Chosen are murdered, but he'll come down hard if a women shows her knees in public. Alleluja!
Well, sense you men can't keep your hormones under controll, why don't you walk around "walk quickly, without drawing a crowd and without talking to each other?"
It's time for the Ultra Orthodox to lose their influence. I can assure you all, if Israel was governed by Reform or Secular Jews, things would be better.
I'd like to see a Secular Israel with Israeli Jews and Israeli Muslims governing together.
A seven year old.
A seven year old.
A seven year old's clothes are too revealing.
Any time you complain that a seven year old is too sexy to be out in public you are proclaiming yourself to be a pedophile. Your arguments, explanations, justifications, and even desperate inability to take responsibility for your own life, all fade into the background against the fact that you look at a seven year old little kid and your first thoughts are of lust. Just being attracted to little kids is not in itself morally wrong, provided you never, ever, ever, so much as let yourself get near a situation where you might act on that, but it is something that should bring about inquiries into therapy, not harassment of children.
As the descendant of Holocaust survivors, let me just say...I am truly ashamed of the behavior of these people. They complain about the Palestinian Muslims and then turn around and behave as badly as their self-proclaimed adversaries.
Way to keep the high moral ground, you dipshits.
It is fortunate that religious fundamentalists consistently fail the mirror test.
I fear for the day that fundamentalist Christians, Muslims and Jews discover they have so much in common and decide to stop tearing each other apart to bring their crusade/jihad/milkhemet mitzvah upon the rest of world.
If there's a problem with how women are dressed, the problem lies with you, not with them. If you can't control yourself by seeing even a naked woman, then you need serious help.
@Gloria
"A seven year old.
A seven year old.
A seven year old's clothes are too revealing."
Just those three lines speaks more about the 'complaints' of these douches than all of the Complete Oxford English Dictionary (20 volumes).
I wonder what the ancient Hebrew for 'Nonce' is...?
Nothing says 'I'm all man' like violently and repeatedly terrorizing a little girl into staying home from school.
Fuck you violently and ferociously with a habanero soaked nailboard.
EDIT: to see this little girl and her mother, go here and fast forward to :45.
EDIT: Thankfully, there is community support for Na'ama and other women and girls.
Making women walk on seperate sidewalks, walk quickly, and refrain from talking....
Funny, that sounds a lot like the restrictions the Nazis imposed on Jews when they were out in public, doesn't it?
@The Jamo
these ultra-orthodox Jews refuse to serve in the IDF, demand special treatment, etc and can survive because a 21C state protects and nurtures them, as it does the"illegal" settlements.
They are parasitic, and like all fundies, want to impose religious law - not too different from the Wahabi Muslims
"#1361704
Funny, that sounds a lot like the restrictions the Nazis imposed on Jews when they were out in public, doesn't it?"
This reminds me of dear ol' Rabbi Dov Lior (see also the links under 'References', and the definition for 'Pure Evil').
IMO, these problems would be solved if all Fundies of all faiths were just given their own country.
No, scratch that. Give them their own planet. Put them on a shuttle to Kepler 22b. If they can survive the 600-year trip, it's all theirs to have dominion over. And in the freakish off-chance that they DO all survive the trip, you know they'll all just end up killing each other anyway once they get there, so any indigenous populations should be okay.
Jewish sexism = loss of Holocaust sympathy, in my book.
They are persecuting their women with rocks in their hands, they are chasing their girl toddlers and children to spit at them...
I bet some of these men even wish they could shoot at or gas these completely innocent ladies, young and old.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register . Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.
