TEL AVIV // Thousands of Israelis protested yesterday against rising Jewish religious coercion in a small town near Jerusalem, in a rally reflecting worsening relations between Israel's majority and the fast-growing ultra-Orthodox minority.
The demonstration followed two days of violence in the mostly religious town of Beit Shemesh, as dozens of extremist ultra-Orthodox men clashed with police officers dispatched to take down street signs ordering gender segregation in the public sphere.
Many Israelis, most of whom are secular or moderately religious, have been infuriated in recent days by reports of ultra-religious zealots trying to enforce their strict religious code on the town's other residents, especially the forced separation of men and women.
Most prominently, a report broadcast on Israeli television on Friday had drawn national attention by showing how an 8-year-old girl is spat on and harassed every day by the ultra-Orthodox on her way to school, about 300 metres away from her home.
The bespectacled second-grader, Naama Margolese, attends a modern Orthodox school that borders an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood and that is viewed by many of the ultra-religious as trespassing into their territory.
The girl's plight helped ignite yesterday's protest, as organisers made a call on the social-networking site Facebook for supporters to attend the rally by starting a group called "One thousand Israelis are going to Beit Shemesh to protect little Naama". The group has drawn some 10,000 followers.
The increasing ultra-Orthodox pressure on the less religious residents of Beit Shemesh, a town of about 80,000 people located 30 kilometres west of Jerusalem, is the latest source of religious-secular tensions in the country.
Secular Israelis have increasingly become embittered over what they say is religious coercion and rising violence by the ultra-Orthodox.
Most recently, civil-rights advocates have condemned some ultra-Orthodox groups for forcing women to sit in the back rows of buses driving through their neighbourhoods while men sit at the front. In Israel it is illegal to force women to sit in the back portion of the bus but females who refuse are verbally and even physically attacked by male passengers.
In Jerusalem, several rabbis have pressured businesses, which often depend on clients from the city's large ultra-Orthodox population, to stop posting advertisements with images of women or employing females in any of their shops frequented by the strictly religious.
In Beit Shemesh, a more extremist sect of the ultra-Orthodox community has sent out a "modesty patrol" to enforce a strict dress code for women that calls for closed-neck, long-sleeved shirts and ankle-length skirts, and have erected signs ordering men and women to walk on separate pavements.
On Monday, dozens of ultra-religious men surrounded police officers who arrived in town with municipal inspectors to remove for at least the third time in a week a sign calling for women to avoid walking on certain streets frequented by religious males.
The men blasted the police officers as "Nazis" and danced in circles around them. Ultra-orthodox males later pelted a television crew covering the clashes with eggs, assaulted a videographer, threw rocks at police officers and set nearby rubbish bins on fire.
In the face of public condemnation of the attempts to enforce gender separation, the violence and religious coercion in Beit Shemesh has this week been lambasted by the country's leaders. Shimon Peres, the president, yesterday urged Israelis to attend the protest.
Speaking to journalists before a meeting with Israeli ambassadors, he said: "Today is a test not just for the police but for the entire nation. All of us, religious, secular, traditional … must as one man defend the character of the state of Israel against a minority that tries to break our national solidarity."
Eli Yishai, head of the ultra-Orthodox party Shas, on Monday also joined the criticism against the religious extremists in Beit Shemesh, calling the harassment of the schoolgirl "nauseating and disgusting" and adding that such behaviour goes against the teachings of the Hebrew bible.
Israel's ultra-Orthodox, known as Haredim - a Hebrew term referring to their fear of God - are a tightknit community that accounts for almost 10 per cent of the country's population of 7.7 million.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
