More notes from the women's march in Bnei Brak
The current march in Bnei Brak against sex discrimination has concluded, and there's quite a bit of details given here what kind of dialogue turned up, at a protest that unfortunately may not have been organized on altruistic motivations, and the Times of Israel wasn't improving with their leftist approach:
That aside, while I think the ultra-Orthodox were asking for this, that doesn't mean I can appreciate the far-left rhetoric motivating the whole march. That's why I think right-wingers have to start confronting the issue too, on their own.
Update: here's an embarrassing incident from the event that certainly dampens the impact all the more:
A women’s rights march by thousands of liberals in the predominantly Haredi city of Bnei Brak on Thursday night provided an unlikely backdrop for heartfelt dialogue between devout and secular Israelis at a time of growing estrangement between their demographics.This is the only problem with the march. They're scapegoating the entire government, even if the Haredi community did ask for this. The same leftists who're highly unlikely to take even the slightest issue with Islamofascism. And if they're not willing to condemn the Religion of Peace for doing far worse, then what good is this rally?
The amity lasted for about 30 minutes.
After that, any possibility of a discussion was drowned by loud music, thunderous drumming and bellicose rhetoric from both sides at the event, organized to protest what activists view as the exclusion and oppression of women in Haredi society and by the Haredi-backed government.
Rabbis who object to women singing in public should be jailed, speaker Ayelet Hashachar told the crowd. Haredim who “fight not with but against the country,” should feel disturbed by the protests, she added.I do think rabbis who indoctrinate women into believing it's inherently wrong to do what biblical Miriam, sister of Moses, did in their time to celebrate after fleeing Egypt, should face serious penalties for creating an unpleasant atmosphere running the gauntlet of gender-shaming. But again, that this rally was organized on a leftist platform undermines everything. Were there really right-wing demonstrators there? If they were ultra-Orthodox with sex-negative viewpoints, they don't speak for me.
Right-wing counter-protesters answered the rally by hollering “leftist traitors” at the marchers. There were a few minor scuffles that ended without injuries or arrests.
But the margins of the protest also saw people from opposite camps holding impromptu discussions that, while they were sometimes short, heated and blunt, afforded them a rare insight into each other’s belief systems despite the polarization eroding what common ground they share.No, that's BS, because I'm an Orthodox adherent by default, and I don't see women singing and wearing tank tops as anathema to Judaism at all. And that's just one of the reasons why I'm hugely disappointed with the Haredis, because all this sex-negative mentality's taken away attention from more pressing issues like Islamofascism, and makes it difficult to differentiate. In any event, here's something bad that happened:
In one such conversation, Dana Betzalel, a 34-year-old Haredi radio presenter on Jewish heritage and a poet, told Nili Brenner, a 62-year-old from Tel Aviv: “Because of anti-Haredi incitement, I feel less safe walking around in a secular area than ever before, and certainly less safe than in a Haredi area,” adding: “And this march is supposed to be about respecting other people?”
Betzalel was among several Haredi women who handed out water bottles and wristbands emblazoned with the words: “Love thy neighbor,” an initiative she said was meant to encourage dialogue.
Brenner, 62, wearing shorts and a tank top with stickers, acknowledged Betzalel’s feeling of insecurity. “That’s terrible. I’m really sorry to hear that. But there’s tremendous anger. And I too am feeling insecure. There are laws of this government, supported by your community’s leaders, that are limiting my freedom. Can you grasp how that feels?” she asked.
Several speakers at the rally referred to the Haredi public and its leaders as willing partners in a push to quash civil liberties and coerce millions of secular and non-Jewish Israelis to abide by Orthodox Jewish principles.
Before the speeches, the powerful amplification system blasted popular pop songs. One, whose title means “all options are on the table,” included lyrics such as: “I said it once and I’ll repeat / I have a round in the chamber, not in the clip / for everything, there’s a time / and a moment of truth and a red line,” though others were of a less loaded nature.Here's another something that ruins much about this march. They played a song that sounded like a validation of violence? Very dumb. Now here's some telling statements by Haredis:
That song, a popular number among overhaul protesters, drew loud boos from the 300-odd counter-protesters, most of whom were non-Haredi right-wing activists. Some of Bnei Brak’s leading rabbis had issued a text calling on locals to stay away from the protesters to avoid friction, resulting in a scarce Haredi presence.
Haredi teen Moran Attias, 16, didn’t hear of the call and looked slightly alarmed when The Times of Israel asked her what made her ignore it. “I just wanted to talk to the women from Tel Aviv and tell them what it’s really like,” she said.If they believe women must dress modestly no matter what, then I think he should take his claim and stuff it. And if we're talking public buses here, and not bathrooms and changing rooms, then the girl would do well to consider that the real worry should be about transsexual-identifying men using protected class status to violate women's privacy. Even ultra-Orthodox women can fall victim to this form of "punk subculture". The above girl also failed to explain how forcing women to sit in the back and dress according to Haredi expectations is a sign of "respect".
Sex segregation is “a sign of respect for women, not exclusion,” she told a secular woman, Inbal Bar-Sela, a 57-year-old psychotherapist who came to the protest from Haifa. Bar-Sela did not dispute this, but said: “I work with a Haredi woman who can’t drive because if she does her sons won’t get into a good yeshiva.” Attias nodded and said: “Yes, that happens in extreme communities. That’s not us, our mom drives us everywhere, she’s like Egged,” Attias said jokingly, referencing the bus company.
Oz Kostika, a 27-year-old Haredi special education professional, was one of the locals who knowingly ignored the rabbinical text to stay away, which he said was advisory and not binding.
“You have a misconception about us,” he told a group of female protesters. “This is a place where women are respected much more than in your society. You’re fishing for an inappropriate incident here and there and using it to vilify all of us and insult us in our home with this protest. It’s very painful.”
That aside, while I think the ultra-Orthodox were asking for this, that doesn't mean I can appreciate the far-left rhetoric motivating the whole march. That's why I think right-wingers have to start confronting the issue too, on their own.
Update: here's an embarrassing incident from the event that certainly dampens the impact all the more:
A female protester who attended the Thursday night protest in Bnei Brak raised a storm after she ripped off her shirt in front of the crowd.It is ludicrous and monumentally stupid to do something like expose oneself's private parts in public, and does nothing to support the message sent. As a result, this march could come off more as a farce than a serious message to the Haredis.
The "Yehudit" organization has announced that it filed a complaint with the police for "humiliation and sexual harassment." Moria Litwak, Yehudit's CEO, said, "This is sexual harassment in every way. This woman deserves every condemnation. She exposed her body intentionally in front of young haredi men, with the intention to hurt their feelings and humiliate them."
"In essence, this is accompanied by a message of objectification of the female body and turning it into a vessel - a message which is in contradiction to the goals which they declared when they went out to protest. Once more, radical leftist women are proving their disconnection from any measure of ethics. I expect Israel Police to investigate the suspect, arrest her, and bring her to justice."
Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Knesset, misogyny, Moonbattery
