Religious Strife At Hakafot Shniyot in Modiin

Modiin, which until recently looked like the quiet alternative to Bet Shemesh for someone looking for reasonably priced housing outside the major cities, has been going through religious strife of it's own.

The biggest of the issues has been the fight over the Haredi visitors to Park Anabe in Modiin. Because the park is free, many haredim from Modiin Ilit have taken advantage of that for a nice vacation day activity. They crowd the park, making it uncomfortable for the local residents to enjoy the park, and have even tried to stop female performers from performing, thus intervening in local behavior.. Eventually Modiin Ilit announced the creation of a new archaeological park that would only be open to haredi visitors. Modiin then found a roundabout way of legally limiting entry, during vacation times, from visitors outside of Modiin itself. They even tried to prevent Modiin residents from bringing haredi guests to the park, something that was technically allowed based on the rules set.

The latest issue was the dancing of hakafot shniyot on the night after Simchat Torah. In the central hakafot shniyot event of Modiin, sponsored by the city, they decided this year not to construct a mechitza, but to have separate circles of dancing - one for men, one for women, and one mixed for those who would want it.

According to Mynet, some local activists, seemingly affiliated with the local Reform community, jumped into the mens circle and danced there. The men, who were religious men that wanted a separate mens circle, stopped dancing and some went to the side to make a new circle. Some said that next year the religious community will not participate in the hakafot shniyot celebrations.

The activists deny any attempt of a provocation, saying there was mixed dancing and they participated in the event as it was meant to be. They even say they were upset  with the city's decision to keep haredim out of Park Anabe.

Not all is kosher in Modiin. All over the world people learn to live together. There must be a way for it to be possible here as well...


------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel
------------------------------------------------------