Contact Admin. This is a story about runaway extremism. About the apathy of the local authorities and the silence of local religious leadership. It was one of the strangest and most inspiring experiences of my life.
And despite the problems in Beit Shemesh, I came home from the day proud of the State of Israel that had brought us together. Tensions in Beit Shemesh, a suburb 30 minutes west of Jerusalem, began over a decade ago, when groups from the most insular ultra-Orthodox Jewish sects settled in a newer section of the city, Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet.
This neighborhood abuts an established Religious Zionist neighborhood where women, both native Israeli and immigrant like me have made a home for our religious Zionist families. A group of women, all of whom had endured physical or verbal assault, decided to try to end this harassment.
They attempted to work with the city, and were all but ignored. Moderate haredi leaders refused to get involved. Throughout all this, the women and their supporters were subjected to skepticism and criticism. Those who themselves had turned blind eye to the women and girls were now shaming them for accepting assistance where they at last found it. Many people, local and on social media demanded to know why they were causing such problems.
Finally, in , the women had a big victory. The city took some of the signs down. The new sign was even more specific: Thank you for the understanding. Rabbis of the area and the residents. This past summer, religious teens who walked through Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet on Shabbat to volunteer with special needs children had trash and invective hurled at them by youngsters and adults. We are telling you how to dress. In other words, the signs were being used to justify violent behavior.
