Foreigners look at this with 'Rosa Parks' glasses. They see the civil rights movement and they cringe. Let me enlighten you. You are using near sighted glasses for a far sighted problem. And it don't work.
The issue isn't putting a sub class of people at the back of the bus to degrade them. The issue is that the community chooses separation of the sexes as a way of retaining a level of purity and modesty in a world where men and women sleep around like no body's business. The buses in Israel get jammed packed and this was the option that was decided upon. It could have been women on the left and men on the right just as easily. It is not meant as and not seen as and not felt as degradation by those who ride these buses. Believe it or not it is quite liberating to not have to be bumping up against the opposite sex. In particular I remember a ride when a man's privates were right in my face the whole time. It was very unpleasant.
The issue is that there are buses which are designated as separate seating, but it is not enforced by the bus company nor the law. Therefor it is at the rider's discretion to
A. ride that particular bus and
B. sit according to the accepted practice.
That means that if I want to travel to Tel Aviv, there are many buses and have the option of both separate buses or a non separate ones. If I choose the separate bus I know in advance (and its posted all over the bus) that travelers are requested to sit according to the format of men in the front and women in the back.
Don't like it, take a different bus. You want to take that separate bus but want to sit where you like, not according to the request. Know that this will be an issue and you may or may not be requested to move. Sometimes people are polite and sometimes not. The status quo should be to politely explain and request that the person moves. They don't want to, deal with it. However, there are people who have not been brought up right from all walks of life and we now find ourselves in a situation where we are plastered all over the media because some idiot made a fool out of himself. This has been an on going topic / subject here for at least 7 years. I was on a separate bus when I was pregnant and there were no more seats in the back, I moved to the front where there were seats. A couple of men explained that this was a separate bus and requested that I move politely. I politely told them men that I was not willing to do so and that was then end of it. 99% of the time, that is how it pans out. 99% of the time there is no problem. Things seem to have come to head and 'This too shall Pass'.
The person I really feel sorry for in all this hoopla is the little Margolis girl who has become the international poster child for the anti Haredi (Ultra Orthodox)protests, Sinat Hinam (baseless hatred) and Hilul HaShem (Desecration of G-D). I can't imagine that she is thrilled (or will be in the future) to have her face and name plastered all over the world. I don't think her parents did her any favors.
The issue isn't putting a sub class of people at the back of the bus to degrade them. The issue is that the community chooses separation of the sexes as a way of retaining a level of purity and modesty in a world where men and women sleep around like no body's business. The buses in Israel get jammed packed and this was the option that was decided upon. It could have been women on the left and men on the right just as easily. It is not meant as and not seen as and not felt as degradation by those who ride these buses. Believe it or not it is quite liberating to not have to be bumping up against the opposite sex. In particular I remember a ride when a man's privates were right in my face the whole time. It was very unpleasant.
The issue is that there are buses which are designated as separate seating, but it is not enforced by the bus company nor the law. Therefor it is at the rider's discretion to
A. ride that particular bus and
B. sit according to the accepted practice.
That means that if I want to travel to Tel Aviv, there are many buses and have the option of both separate buses or a non separate ones. If I choose the separate bus I know in advance (and its posted all over the bus) that travelers are requested to sit according to the format of men in the front and women in the back.
Don't like it, take a different bus. You want to take that separate bus but want to sit where you like, not according to the request. Know that this will be an issue and you may or may not be requested to move. Sometimes people are polite and sometimes not. The status quo should be to politely explain and request that the person moves. They don't want to, deal with it. However, there are people who have not been brought up right from all walks of life and we now find ourselves in a situation where we are plastered all over the media because some idiot made a fool out of himself. This has been an on going topic / subject here for at least 7 years. I was on a separate bus when I was pregnant and there were no more seats in the back, I moved to the front where there were seats. A couple of men explained that this was a separate bus and requested that I move politely. I politely told them men that I was not willing to do so and that was then end of it. 99% of the time, that is how it pans out. 99% of the time there is no problem. Things seem to have come to head and 'This too shall Pass'.
The person I really feel sorry for in all this hoopla is the little Margolis girl who has become the international poster child for the anti Haredi (Ultra Orthodox)protests, Sinat Hinam (baseless hatred) and Hilul HaShem (Desecration of G-D). I can't imagine that she is thrilled (or will be in the future) to have her face and name plastered all over the world. I don't think her parents did her any favors.
