Thoughts and Comments

If ever there was a case where everyone was wrong, this has to be it.

I do not know how any self respecting charedi individual can support what was done to that woman.

I also think that it is incumbent on us to play nicely with others and not force our views on other people just to make a point. I do not believe for a moment that if the woman was old/handicapped/pregnant that she would have encountered the same response.

I recall hearing a story about a yeshiva bochur riding a bus that was the old fashioned kind (you know mixed seating) and having an empty seat next to him when two chiloni girls got on the bus and one said to other very loudly "watch, I will get you a seat". She then proceeded to sit next to said yeshiva bochur who simply remained in his seat and ignored her. She repeated her announcement and moved closer to him. When this elicited no response she announced it once more loudly and moved even closer and place her hand on his leg.

At this point the whole bus (that had not one other "charedi" on board) is watching and the yeshiva bochur raised his hand and slapped the girl across the face. The people on the bus reacted to his action with thundering applause and the two girls got up and left the bus at the next stop.

Point being, people need to respect the sensitivities of others. This was not a case of women being treated as second class citizens that required the heroic self-sacrifice of an activist. This was a woman who thought that her level of frumkeit was the right level and anyone who was different was wrong and she was going to teach them a lesson. She is like the girl in the story who announced that she was going to teach “them” a lesson. I do not know this for a fact but I would bet that she told everyone she knew what she was doing and was probably quite proud of herself

Again that absolutely does not mean that was done to her was right, it was probably (OK certainly) more wrong than what she did. But what she did bothers me more for one reason. She set out to deliberately start up with everyone on the bus, they just reacted.

Yes it got out of control and what was done to her was horrible, but people react strangely when confronted and often get caught up in the heat of the moment. We (Jews, ALL Jews) are supposed to better than that and be able to rise above these things but sometimes we fail and the people on the bus obviously failed the test that was put to them. But what she did was premeditated and was intended to "stir the pot", I do not think she has a right to complain that the pot was over-stirred.