On Sunday, The Forward reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered Israel's Interior Ministry to take strong action against a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews in the town of Beit Shemesh. A television report last week focused public attention on the plight of young girls attending the modern Orthodox Orot Banot school in Beit Shemesh. Since the school opened last September, girls attending have been cursed and even spit on by a group of extremist Haredi (strictly Orthodox) Jews who believe that the girls' are not dressing modestly enough. The same Haredi are also pushing for gender-segregated bus lines and the designation of parts of the city where women and men would walk on separate sides of the street. A television report on an 8-year old who feared walking the short distance to school has galvanized public sympathy. The mayor of Beit Shemesh ordered city workers to remove signs that directed women to cross the street and not linger in front of a synagogue. When workers did so, a group of Haredim threw rocks at them and called the municipal workers "Nazis."
At last Sunday's Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke about the issue (full text of remarks), saying in part: "Israel is a democratic, Western, liberal state. The public sphere is open and safe for everyone - men and women alike. There is no place for harassment or discrimination.... The Israel Police are taking, and will take, action to arrest and stop those who spit, harass or raise a hand."
