Jewish gender segregation campaign turns violent
By Menahem Kahana | AFP â
Violence in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, on Monday came after a wave of incidents âĶ
A man from the town of Beit Shemesh was arrested on Monday over an assault on Sunday âĶ
Clashes erupted on Monday between police and several hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews from a town near Jerusalem who are campaigning for men and women to be segregated, an AFP journalist said.
Israeli police had stepped up their patrols in Beit Shemesh following unrest sparked by discrimination against women imposed by a radical fringe of the town's religious Jews.
Several demonstrators were taken in for questioning after police and journalists were roughed up and insulted by ultra-Orthodox men telling them to "clear off," the journalist said.
There were also shouting matches between ultra-Orthodox and secular Jews.
Beit Shemesh residents showered police and television crews with eggs and also set fire to the contents of refuse bins.
Several placards urging segregation between men and women that had been removed by police were later put back by protesters.
Earlier, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a man from Beit Shemesh had been arrested over an assault on Sunday on a TV crew filming a sign instructing women to cross the street to avoid walking past a synagogue.
Other signs posted in an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood instructed women to dress "modestly" in long sleeves and calf-length skirts.
By Menahem Kahana | AFP â
Violence in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, on Monday came after a wave of incidents âĶ
A man from the town of Beit Shemesh was arrested on Monday over an assault on Sunday âĶ
Clashes erupted on Monday between police and several hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews from a town near Jerusalem who are campaigning for men and women to be segregated, an AFP journalist said.
Israeli police had stepped up their patrols in Beit Shemesh following unrest sparked by discrimination against women imposed by a radical fringe of the town's religious Jews.
Several demonstrators were taken in for questioning after police and journalists were roughed up and insulted by ultra-Orthodox men telling them to "clear off," the journalist said.
There were also shouting matches between ultra-Orthodox and secular Jews.
Beit Shemesh residents showered police and television crews with eggs and also set fire to the contents of refuse bins.
Several placards urging segregation between men and women that had been removed by police were later put back by protesters.
Earlier, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a man from Beit Shemesh had been arrested over an assault on Sunday on a TV crew filming a sign instructing women to cross the street to avoid walking past a synagogue.
Other signs posted in an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood instructed women to dress "modestly" in long sleeves and calf-length skirts.
