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"Every two or three days, someone would tell me to sit in the back, sometimes politely and sometimes not," she recalled this week in a telephone interview. "I was always polite and said 'No. This is not a synagogue. I am not going to sit in the back.'"
But Shear, a 50-year-old religious woman, says that on the morning of the 24th, a man got onto the bus and demanded her seat - even though there were a number of other seats available in the front of the bus.
"I said, I'm not moving and he said, 'I'm not asking you, I'm telling you.' Then he spat in my face and at that point, I was in high adrenaline mode and called him a son-of-a-bitch, which I am not proud of. Then I spat back. At that point, he pushed me down and people on the bus were screaming that I was crazy. Four men surrounded me and slapped my face, punched me in the chest, pulled at my clothes, beat me, kicked me. My snood [hair covering] came off. I was fighting back and kicked one of the men in his privates. I will never forget the look on his face."
Throughout the encounter, Shear says the bus driver "did nothing." The other passengers, she says, blamed her for not moving to the back of the bus and called her a "stupid American with no sechel [common sense.] People blamed me for not knowing my place and not going to the back of the bus where I belong."
Good for her. Too bad she did not get all four in the nuts.I know I'm going to catch flak for even posting this by some simply because it involves Israel, but eh. I'm very disappointed in reading this.
Woman beaten on J'lem bus for refusing to move to rear seat - Haaretz - Israel News
"Every two or three days, someone would tell me to sit in the back, sometimes politely and sometimes not," she recalled this week in a telephone interview. "I was always polite and said 'No. This is not a synagogue. I am not going to sit in the back.'"
But Shear, a 50-year-old religious woman, says that on the morning of the 24th, a man got onto the bus and demanded her seat - even though there were a number of other seats available in the front of the bus.
"I said, I'm not moving and he said, 'I'm not asking you, I'm telling you.' Then he spat in my face and at that point, I was in high adrenaline mode and called him a son-of-a-bitch, which I am not proud of. Then I spat back. At that point, he pushed me down and people on the bus were screaming that I was crazy. Four men surrounded me and slapped my face, punched me in the chest, pulled at my clothes, beat me, kicked me. My snood [hair covering] came off. I was fighting back and kicked one of the men in his privates. I will never forget the look on his face."
Throughout the encounter, Shear says the bus driver "did nothing." The other passengers, she says, blamed her for not moving to the back of the bus and called her a "stupid American with no sechel [common sense.] People blamed me for not knowing my place and not going to the back of the bus where I belong."
No doubt it show how many treat women as second class citizen. I would imagine the bus line in full denial for liability reasons plus they would have to deal with the nutcases there too.Good for her. Too bad she did not get all four in the nuts.
Agreed, it's a shame this happened though.
Mazel tov!
Seriously, it doesn't pay to mess with Israeli Women. They have universal service over there and they have been trained.
Mazel tov!
Seriously, it doesn't pay to mess with Israeli Women. They have universal service over there and they have been trained.
Ummm.... It says they called her "a stupid American".... So, was she Israeli or American?
Mazel tov!
Seriously, it doesn't pay to mess with Israeli Women. They have universal service over there and they have been trained.
(hotlinked)
Ummm.... It says they called her "a stupid American".... So, was she Israeli or American?
Did you bother to read the article?
An American-Israeli woman who currently lives in Canada,
Mazel tov!
Seriously, it doesn't pay to mess with Israeli Women. They have universal service over there and they have been trained.
Ummm.... It says they called her "a stupid American".... So, was she Israeli or American?
The article says American born Jew, currently living in Canada. This is a true 'international incident'.
Shit like this makes me feel all warm and fuzzy (like a moldy turd) towards religion in general. I'll bet a dollar that the secular liberals in Israel are appalled and ashamed.
They have every right to be.
-Joe
It's still under investigation, the witness who substantiated the story didn't come forward at first and is anonymous, the woman seemed to be going out of her way to provoke. If you're going to go to Israel and you are Jewish and find yourself on a bus where the women sit in back, and you're a fucking Canadian, why the hell would you feel compelled to consistently sit in front with the men?
It's one thing for an Israeli woman who is on a crusade or has just had it, but this woman is a fucking tourist. If you can't abide by the customs of other countries, stay home. You can sit anywhere you want on a Canadian bus.
It's still under investigation, the witness who substantiated the story didn't come forward at first and is anonymous, the woman seemed to be going out of her way to provoke. If you're going to go to Israel and you are Jewish and find yourself on a bus where the women sit in back, and you're a fucking Canadian, why the hell would you feel compelled to consistently sit in front with the men?
It's one thing for an Israeli woman who is on a crusade or has just had it, but this woman is a fucking tourist. If you can't abide by the customs of other countries, stay home. You can sit anywhere you want on a Canadian bus.
She's not Canadian but it's quite obvious you didn't read the article.
Word of Shear's story traveled quickly after she forwarded an e-mail detailing her experience. She has been contacted by a number of groups, including Shatil, the New Israel Fund's Empowerment and Training Center for Social Change; Kolech, a religious women's forum; the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the legal advocacy arm of the local Reform movement; and the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA).
In the coming month, IRAC will be submitting a petition to the High Court of Justice against the Transportation Ministry over the issue of segregated Egged buses. IRAC attorney Orly Erez-Likhovski is in touch with Shear and is considering including her in the petition.
Although the No. 2 Jerusalem bus where the incident occurred is not actually defined as a mehadrin line, Erez-Likhovski says that Shear's story is further proof that the issue requires legal clarification. About 30 Egged buses are designated as mehadrin, mostly on inter-city lines, but they are not marked to indicate this. "There's no way to identify a mehadrin bus, which in itself is a problem," she said.
"Theoretically, a person can sit wherever they want, even on a mehadrin line, but we're seeing that people are enforcing [the gender segregation] even on non-mehadrin lines and that's the part of the danger," she said.
On a mehadrin bus, women enter and exit through the rear door, and the seats from the rear door back are generally considered the "women's section." A child is usually sent forward to pay the driver.
The official responses (which, as we know, are the only things that really matter....)
In a response from Egged, the bus driver denied that Shear was physically attacked in any way.
"In a thorough inquiry that we conducted, we found that the bus driver does not confirm that any violence was used against the complainant," Egged spokesman Ron Ratner wrote.
"According to the driver, once he saw that there was a crowd gathering around her, he stopped the bus and went to check what was going on. He clarified to the passengers that the bus was not a mehadrin line and that all passengers on the line are permitted to sit wherever they want on the bus. After making sure that the passengers returned to their seats, he continued driving."
The Egged response also noted that their drivers "are not able and are not authorized to supervise the behavior of the passengers in all situations."
Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Avner Ovadia said in response that the mehadrin lines are "the result of agreements reached between Egged and Haredi bodies" and are therefore unconnected to the ministry.
A spokesperson for the Jerusalem police said the case is still under investigation.
Sounds like b.s. to me.
