A Supermarket Is Not A Shul

Bet Shemesh has hit the news again. This time for what might be described as a cross-border incident.

Until now the various incidents of conflicts and strife have occurred in areas where the haredim live - either in their neighborhoods or right next to. When they make demands, one could say, even if one were to disagree, that they have a certain right to expect people from the outside entering their areas for shopping or whatever to respect the local sensitivities and be asked to dress appropriately. Even with disagreeing with the idea, there is at least a certain logic behind it.

However, when a supermarket opens up in a non-religious neighborhood, there is no logic in demanding that immodestly clad women must be completely covered up in order to enter.

Osher Ad, a supermarket known for their super-sized stores with cheap prices, just opened in Bet Shemesh in the neighborhood of Migdal HaMayim. Shoppers were shocked to see at the entrance a sign demanding they cover up before entering, along with a box of shawls or pieces of cloth with which to cover exposed shoulders or to drape around pants.

Rightfully so, they questioned why they must be told to dress up to go shopping in their own non-religious neighborhood. If their style of dress bothers anybody, those people should not be entering a non-religious neighborhood anyway. If I don't want to see women in bikinis I won't go to the beach. if I dont want to see women with exposed shoulders and slacks I won't go to do my shopping in a secular neighborhood. I don't have the right to go to the beach and demand that all the suntanners cover up so I can enjoy the beach as well.

After some complaining to the manager, and some articles in Ynet, GLZ, Dossim and Haaretz, the sign has already been removed.

We need to avoid these fights to start with. There is no reason these issues should come up and require a reaction.

A supermarket is not a shul. While women and men should be dressing modestly at all times, that is each persons own business, and those who don't don't and there is nothing I can do about it. A supermarket is not a shul. If another shopper's mode of dress bothers me so much, I should know not to go there. Those who want to take advantage of the cheaper prices will go shopping there regardless of who else is shopping there.

On the one hand the supermarket is not a shul, but on the other hand it is also not a beach - people are not walking around picking their tomatoes and cucumbers dressed in bikinis. people are dressed, usually fairly decently, just not adhering to what religious people consider the rules of tzniyus. Most people, especially when going into a secular neighborhood, will not be seriously bothered by how others are dressed. People who are will not go there to shop anyway.

The store's attempt to placate everybody, even without knowing about a specific problem, is insulting. The store's initial response was to say that they serve everybody equally, and the chain respects its customers and requests to prevent harming the sensitivities of this or that community..

That is a very nice sentiment, but when they are then asking that one group change their style of dress in order to respect the other group, they are harming the sensitivities of one over the other.

At the end of the day, I am not aware of any indication that this sign was demanded by the haredi community. As far as I can tell, the store is at fault for this snafu, making an assumption about what would be demanded of them, and it was not the haredi askanim actually demanding it. I would give them credit for not being involved in this issue. the situation has been so volatile that such an innocuous sign becomes a major issue.



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