BICOM

Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior ministers have opposed attempts by some members of the ultra-Orthodox community to demand women to sit at the back of public buses on routes that travel through ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods, in statements made yesterday. Public attention in Israel has been focussed on the issue by an incident last Friday in which a student, Tanya Rosenblit, refused demands by some ultra-Orthodox passengers to sit at the back of a bus travelling from the costal city of Ashdod to Jerusalem.

Addressing the Israeli cabinet yesterday, Netanyahu said, “Israeli society is a mosaic composed of Jews and Arabs, secular and ultra-orthodox, and until today we have agreed on peaceful coexistence and mutual respect among all sectors,” adding that “marginal groups cannot be allowed to dismantle our common denominator and we must maintain the public space as an open and safe for all Israelis.” Rosenblit later held a press conference alongside Transport Minister, Yisrael Katz, who ordered an investigation into the incident. She received messages of support from other senior politicians including opposition leader Tzipi Livni.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews maintain strict codes of personal modesty, often seeking to minimise contact with the opposite gender. However, both Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar also opposed attempts by ultra-Orthodox Jews to impose strict segregation on public busses. Metzger said in a radio interview, “We have no authority to impose our opinion on others. This is a public place,” adding that those that wanted strict segregation should set up special bus companies for that purpose, and not try to impose it on public lines.