Female Soldier Attacked by Jewish Man on Israel Bus
A Jewish man has been arrested after an alleged sex discrimination assault against a female soldier.
In what is believed to be an attack driven by religious views, the man is said to have verbally assaulted the 19-year-old woman after she refused to move to the back of the bus as he had requested, according to The New Zealand Herald.
Although gender segregation attacks are reportedly on the rise, this is the first known formal arrest in relation to the growing problem.
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While gender separation is often common in Orthodox Judaism, many leaders have condemned this latest attack and insisted that it is unacceptable.
Local Rabbi Eliezer Melamed blasted the policy, saying, "Any attempt to prevent interaction between the sexes may only give rise to unwanted urges."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in the Knesset saying, "We'll stop the extremists."
Netanyahu insisted that the man arrested does not reflect the wider Jewish community, and said that instead such people come from "lawless fringe groups."
He also warned that those in breach of the law will be prosecuted, particularly referring to those who harass women in public areas such as buses.
Earlier this week an 8-year-old girl from Beit Shemesh was the subject of sex discrimination, after she was reportedly attacked by a group of Orthodox Jews on her way to school, according to The New York Times.
Naama Margolese was allegedly spat on and accused of being a sex worker by these men because her dress was deemed inappropriate.
Although an overwhelming number of people condemned the rise in gender separatism within the city of Beit Shemesh, others shared supportive views.
Critics suggested that the media are to blame for scrutinizing different religious views, and accused western culture as having its own flaws.
“I think women are very poorly treated in Western society,” 57-year-old local said Cindy Feder told
The Times.
Local Israelis gathered after the attack on Margolese in protest against gender separation.
