The women of Ashdod, at least the Haredi women of Ashdod, have some new rules to follow, as of this morning.
A letter signed by a group of rabbonim of the Haredi community of Ashdod has been published and spread around town setting new rules for the women.
The letter touches on three main issues:
1. Recently women have been riding [electric] scooters and karts (like the golf carts we see around town, usually driven by elderly people? I am not sure what type of vehicle this is). This is in opposition to all rules of Tzniyut and any female over the age of 9 is prohibited from using these devices, and for sure not to ride bicycles.
2. Stores that employ women as cashiers and they dress inappropriately not following the laws of tzniyut, the employer should make their employment conditional on a dress code and behavior appropriate for the Haredi style.
3. avreichim have been complaining that on buses running from the wedding halls at night, even though the women are sitting int he back of the bus they talk between them and can be heard all the way to the front of the bus. This is in opposition to the ways of tzniyut. The women should remember they share a space with men and should be careful about tzniyut and only speak quietly.
A shanda! the men can hear the women! Not only do you have to go sit int he back of the bus, you have to go sit quietly int he back of the bus! Follow the rules, woman! Shame on you for making us men tell you to be quiet!
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The difference between Israel and Iran is that in Israel women can ignore this and not be worried about being killed by the 'government'.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that there are fourteen charedi rabbis in Ashdod.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised that they act like there are no non-charedi women in the whole city.
There is a large Ger Hassidic community in Ashdod (According to Wikipedia, 2218 families or 45% of the Haredi community, which sounds oddly specific). Ger Hassidim are known for there extreme "modesty" standards, so this letter doesn't surprise me.
DeleteLook up the Ger Takanot (which I don't think are available online). I believe that there are many more extreme measures in the Takanot than is outlined in this letter.
Beautiful thing about living in a free democracy is that Rabbis are free to write whatever they want, and other citizens are free to ignore it if they want.
Sometimes they have to fight for the freedom to ignore it. My spouse rode at the front of buses for months until the bus company began cracking down on harassment of women who did so.
DeleteOh, if it's Ger, this is positively pareve compared to their rules. Other charedi groups won't marry into them.