[RBS] religious harassment?

[aviditz]

Motz"Sh, at about 11 pm, my friend and I were standing at the bus stop at the top of Yarden, across from “Resido”, trying to hitch-hike.

A chareidi man who had been standing a few meters in front of us came over to her and said “You’re in RBS B and not respecting that. Stop what you’re doing, now.”

My friend nodded her head noncommittally, and came over to me to ask for my phone (I was standing on the sidewalk and she was on the street). We discussed momentarily whether to call the police or not- if it’s concrete enough to register a complaint on harassment or not, and whether it’s worth complaining even though nothing will be done. We decided to wait and see what would happen.

She then went back to the street and held her thumb out.

A few moments later, the chareidi guy came back to her and said- “Do you understand or do you not understand?” my friend replied “no”. He continued “stop that now and move over” and stood in front of her, blocking her from view of the cars. I came to her side and she edged in front of him, trying to get in front- and he kept moving to block us. She asked him for his name- he should have nothing to hide- and he kept showing us his back.

My friend then called the police and explained our situation- “We’re two girls at the top of RBS B trying to get a ride. We’re totally dressed, nothing provocative about us. A chareidi man is harassing us and telling us to stop”. At the same time, the man was calling his “chevre” to come take care of “prutzadik meidel” (from my limited yiddish- at least that I was able to make out). The police told my friend that they don’t deal with this stuff and when she asked- she didn’t get an answer about who does. The chareidi man called some more people, and my friend called her father to pick us up.

The guy moved back to where he was before, glancing at us momentarily. A few minutes later, while we were waiting for either the police or her father to come, the chareidi man stopped a cab and got in. One minute after that, my friend’s father came and drove us home safely.

A young man who got a ride home with us was also witness to what had happened. He said that also guys are approached by chareidi men- because, supposedly, hitchhiking implies flirtation.

What can be done about this? Will us girls (and guys too) not be able to get around with rides? Will it reach a point at which we won’t be able to walk in our own streets?

If the police aren’t dealing with this- who is???

if you have any constructive replies, please email:

Hadas hadass10 at hotmail.com

Ellie hairforcancer at hotmail.com 



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