Reply #1: Despite High Court ruling, gender segregation in Israel only expanding

[Scurrilous]

The police will not prevent segregation in Jerusalem this year – instead, the Chief of Police will even join in

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"The High Court of Justice (HCJ), no doubt with a stern visage, ruled today that gender segregation in the streets of the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighbourhood of Mea Shearim is no longer to be tolerated – starting next year. But despite a rather similar decision of the Court last year, which the police does not enforce, the segregation continues unabated. The commander of the Jerusalem Police District, Major General Nisso Shaham, said that images of segregation are “shocking sights”, but his promise – that next year “we’ll see far less harsh images” – is not quite reassuring. One should note that the judges did not order the police to end the segregation, which reaches extraordinary levels during the Sukkot Holiday – right now.

Gender segregation is a relatively new phenomenon in Jewish life: It’s been with us for about a decade, possibly a few years more. Strict ultra-Orthodox, particularly Hassidic Jews, claim the very presence of women (or girls, often very young girls) is disturbing to them, as it fills them with impure thoughts. Segregation takes basically two forms: Public transportation segregation, when the women are obliged to sit at the end of the bus, which was endorsed by the courts (who turned a blind eye to the coercion necessary for it to take place); and the much more recent phenomenon of street segregation, where women are obliged to walk on one part of the street only. This abomination, which the courts declared illegal, has been around for some three years, and is still limited in scope."

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