The story goes that a teacher in a Dati Leumi kindergarten in Jerusalem has begun coming to teach in a burqa/shal. She actually teaches dressed normally, and when out of the gan she puts on her cloak, and removes it before entering.
The administrative staff found it strange and startling, but says she is a wonderful teacher and they have no reason to remove her. The parents also think she is great. Basically, how she dresses on her own time is her own business.
Refreshingly accepting and liberal of them.
I just hope that at some point she won't begin trying to pass messages to the kids or through the kids to their mothers.
Either way, it is interesting to see that this craziness is spreading to the Dati Leumi as well. It is possible that the teacher is a Haredi woman teaching in a DL school, as the article is not very specific, though in the article she is described as "one of ours". That could mean one of our teachers, and she is Haredi but we know her and she works for us, or it could mean she is DL - which seems to be how the article understands it.
It just goes to show you, every group has their crazies..
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Dati leumi burqa, eh? I hope it's at least blue and white!
ReplyDeleteAs nice as this woman probably is, I would personally be concerned if my child were in her class, because the burqa generally indicates:
1. A special dedication to Hashem.
2. That one has a screw loose.
Now, one might argue: What's the difference between the burqa and shawl - or even the burqa and sheitel for that matter? People who don't cover their hair think sheitel-wearers are nuts. People in sheitels think women in burqas are nuts, etc. Ultimately it's arbitrary where we draw the line...
I'll tell you how I see the difference. Even though women who cover their hair may - like burqa-wearers - do so out of ideology, wanting to do the "ratzon Hashem", they are ALSO de facto doing it because that's the community norm. It has a pragmatic element to it, and there's something grounding and normalizing about that.
Burqa-wearers lack that grounding - it is 100% ideology, *against* the norm, and someone who is that much of an ideological purist that they are willing to walk around like that and alienate everyone around them, is liable to do nutty (or dangerous/abusive) things.
Of course if burqa-wearing ever became the "norm" in the community (God forbid!), my distinction wouldn't hold.
I would say it's a BT phenomenon rather than Charedi/Dati-Leumi
ReplyDeleteAre we judging people by what they wear now? Atheo brings up a nice point, so where is the line drawn? It's mida cneged mida. As the world around us gets more permissive, then we will feel the need to cover up more, to insist on gender-separate class, events, sidewalks, etc... Get with the program, because it is indeed spreading.
ReplyDeleteAnd Rafi, please take anything that comes out of ynet with a large grain of kosher salt.
lol.. of course, but I love these stories.. without trusting the details completely, it still makes a great story for commenting on..
DeletePlease send this post to HH, thanks. http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_17508.html
ReplyDeleteWould they be as liberal minded if their sweet teacher changed into shorts and a tank top before walking out of the building?
ReplyDeleteI know one Dati Leumi family in RBS where the wife is a shawl lady, and one Shas-type family like that.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, kookiness is not limited to a specific community.