#0202_A_View_from_West_Jerusalem

“[..] ’If you leave our neighborhood, we will leave your daughters alone.’ This is how an anonymous man threatened Nili Philipp over the phone. Nili is a resident of Beit Shemesh [1] who is fighting against the billboards demanding a strict level of modest dress in the city [2]. For five days now, Philipp and her friends have been threatened by the Haredim, who have distributed their personal details to the public and contacted them via phone calls to urge them to stop their struggle against the modesty billboards. Yesterday, the men threatened to step up the harassment and began calling and threatening Philipp's daughters.”

– Ynet

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0202 Editor’s Notes:
[1] Bet Shemesh is a city west of Jerusalem, in which a struggle is taking place between the Haredi and non-Haredi residents over the city's character (religious or otherwise).
[2] On December 4th, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the Beit Shemesh municipality to remove signs that demand women dress modestly. The court ruled that the signs, which the justices say exclude women from the public sphere, must come down by December 18th. The five women who have pushed for this ruling are now being harassed over the phone by Haredi residents.
[2a] Segregation of the sexes is common, to varying degrees, in Haredi societies. However, in the extreme Haredi areas of Bet Shemesh, there are certain communities that wish to segregate even the public spaces, such as the sidewalks. At this point, many believe that it is the State's duty to step in to protect the freedom of movement guaranteed to all its citizens.
For a Haredi perspective on this story, see: https://goo.gl/TPxYib.

#Bet_Shemesh #Segregation

https://goo.gl/9fS4pk

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