Reform movement: Sex-segregated Egged buses are illegal
By Yair Ettinger, Haaretz Correspondent
Egged buses in which ultra-Orthodox men and women are separated are illegal, says the Israel Religious Action Center, the legal advocacy arm of the Israeli Reform movement. The center is threatening to petition the High Court of Justice against the Transportation Ministry over the issue.
Two new sex-segregated bus lines, known as Mehadrin lines, were introduced at the beginning of this week - between Ofakim and Bnei Brak, and between Ofakim and Jerusalem, bringing to 30 the number of segregated buses that Egged is operating throughout the country. Most of the buses are on intercity lines. There are private companies which also operate sex-segregated buses.
Line no. 494, one of the two new Egged Mehadrin lines, is the only bus that goes directly from Jerusalem to the Negev town of Ofakim and it runs at a reduced price. A resident of Ofakim who wishes to ride by regular bus to Jerusalem has to take two separate buses and ends up paying twice as much as those on the Mehadrin lines. That is one of the reasons that the center is demanding Egged define clear criteria for the operation of its Mehadrin lines. The center is not opposed to the idea of operating special lines for ultra-Orthodox passengers.
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Attorney Orly Erez-Lehovsky on Wednesday sent the ministry a letter warning that the center was planning action unless a number of demands about the operation of the buses is met. The center is demanding that Mehadrin lines operate in mixed secular-religious towns only if there is also a line that is not segregated on a gender basis that operates there. The present arrangement constitutes a violation of the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom and discriminates in the kinds of services it offers, the center says.
The Egged spokesman, Ron Ratner, said that the bus cooperative makes decisions according to economic viability. "In the western Negev, our customers are mainly from the religious public," he said. "We estimate that in 15-20 years it will pay off. Then, too, we will be the national carrier but we will specialize in certains sectors. Our crowning glory will be the ultra-Orthodox sector from which hundreds of thousands of passengers use our buses."
To this the center responded: "The fact that Egged wants lines that are economically feasible does not mean it can contravene the law. The Transportation Ministry must make Egged aware of the gravity of its conduct."
Ministry spokesman Avner Ovadia responded: "The Mehadrin lines are the result of agreements reached between Egged and Haredi bodies. There is voluntary segregation between men and women on these buses and it is not based on transportation regulations. We do not instruct certain buses to be for the ultra-Orthodox alone. Anyone who feels offended by the operation of these buses should send a complaint to the transportation ministry."
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