Ultra-Orthodox parents evading jail-time in segregated school row to spend Shabbat at home

Israel and its governement, authorities, socxiety in general are at a crossroads. This is where a line has to be drawn - a democratic Jewish state, or a nation terrorized by fanatics and bigots. Time to stand up and be counted!

This is cause for jail time?!

Because, As a Charaidiy family member, we are ready to fill up all the Jails in Israel !!! I will prove it with the following, it has come to a point that many Charaidim are being forced into difficult situations (by the state of Israel) so frequently that it has become a way of natural life, i.e. many Charaidim have occupied the prisons ( for no legit reason) on a steady basis until its not considered hash punishment any more. All the Charaidim hear all the time is, threats from the State of Israel, it gets to a point that one gets immune to it . (like the story of crying Wolf) Same with the Emmanual girl school parents, they know that the ONLY reason they are forced into Jail is because they are religious, so they are not concerned to fight it, expect that this is from g-d, in order to get rewarded by g-d in the world to come. After all we don't live our lives for this materialistic world, but for Olam Habah (the world to come) in heaven, together with g-d. The support the parents received from over 110,000.00 people proves that we are united as one big happy family, and nothing is going to change it. BTW this a waste of millions of Shekel for the State of Israel, nothing will be gained by Jailing the parents.

The argument that Sephardim are among protesters sounds like "Some of my best friends are Jewish" among White supremacists. These anti-semites should be sent to Gaza. They have more in common with Hamas supporters than with the rest of the Jewish people.

oh sweet irony c'mon, man, all that we jews have in this world is our perceived intelligence. stop ruining it for the rest of us!

It is unfair for parents to be put in prison if they do not wish to send their children to a particular school for religious or cultural reasons. The courts shouldn't force parents to send their children to a school against their wishes.

so who won pls the IDF or the Ashkenazi ??

A small irony but the school I teach in in Belfast was founded by Jewish philanthropists in the late 19th century. Their aim was to establish a school that would have Jewish, Protestant and Catholic children educated together. As far as I know, it was the first purposefully designed integrated school in Ireland. I wonder what its founder, Lady Jaffe, would make of this story.

Look at all these silly black hats in the picture. Perhaps the Ashkenazi want to prove that they are the true jews because they come from gentile peoples and are a mixed bag, what an inferiority complex won't do to make people have to prove something! Doesn't sound like Torah to me. Those black hats and clothing are a merchant costume, not the attire of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

I am a little confused... isn’t this a religious thing... I mean in Canada we have Catholic and Protestant School... what’s so wrong with having Ashkenazi schools and Sephardic schools?

wow thes are the people who complaine about muslims seems to me they are worse

This is not a Slonim school and Mizrachi or Sephardi girls do study here. It is part of the Chinuch Atzmai system, government financed and bound by Israeli law and court rulings. Chinuch Atzmai accepted the court ruling and the break away groups appear to have taken government paid teachers and equipment off the premises to an unlicensed premises for their own use.

It is my people, yet I feel them stranger than people alien to me. This racism is so ugly, and the numbers of protesters so apalling, that I fear for the well-being of my spiritual country's soul. Ashkenazi - Sephardi - Mizrahi racism is so imbecile, so misguided, so horrible. In a way I can't really explain, it is even worse than everyday racism or bigotry in any place of our planet. We are Jews and to discriminate between one another is a sign of darkness in our spirit.

It appears the court allowed the mothers and fathers to serve alternate two week prison terms, so their children shouldn't be left alone.

Besides the fact that the school is mixed and some of the parents going to jail are Sephardi, here are two more facts: 1) The parents tried to start a private school - the court prevented them 2) The parents tried to send their daughters to a school in Bnei Brak -- Misrad HaChinuch prevented them So basically, the court is telling them that they can ONLY send their daughters to THIS ONE SCHOOL and NO OTHER OPTIONS ARE ALLOWED TO THEM! This sounds more like the Soviet Union than democracy.

This is what happens when people interpret the Torah without understanding the reason behind the laws. It is called "strange service" with reason. For without reason all roads lead to evil. We are on the path to darkness. This is not Judaism, it is paganism.

seems like the mother of the stupids is always pregnant

wow if they could show up in these numbers for Gilad Shalit when his Father walks to Jerusalem, then it would be wonderful

This is easy to solve. State subsidized schools should be free and open to all. People who want to discriminate should not be put in jail, they should be required to pay the full cost of their kids' education and send them to an unsubsidized parochial school. For that matter, lets get Israel out of the business of parochial education altogether.

can someone explain to me where it says in halakha that sephardim and ashkenazim cannot learn in the same class? i am confused? Rabbi Litzman and his ashkenazi cohorts might as well convert to Catholicism, because they are putting the rebbeim above the torah.

Is this really happening? How high will insensitivity and closed mindedness continue? These terrible actions by Ashkenazic Jews make me wish that I was a Sepharadi. Adam Kaplan Detroit, MI

leeches on our society! get jobs and serve in zahal. leeches!!

Israel points its fingers at other nations that are hyper lunatic about their religious zeal and right in their midst is this lunatic fringe in their hundreds and thousands. Whatever happened to tolerance in Israel? There ought NOT to be religious schools for having them will make matters worse and worse in the coming years. Consider how the present government is compromised by such tactics? When push comes to shove..universal education with all students together, boys and girls, Ashkenazi and Sephardic, Arabs and Jews ought to be the absolute law..no exceptions for otherwise Israel will splinter into a thousand shards of separation just as it has done so politically with the terrible costs it has endured in attempting to form governments over the years.

Amazing.

Some how you forgot to mention that some of the parents who are going to jail are SEPHRADI - hmm, how did that happen? Perhaps this isn't actually a ashkenazi - sephardi issue at all. AFter all, at 1/4 of the students in the school are sephardi.

Non-Religious Jews, wake up! 30% of the students in the 'Ashkenazi' school are Sefardim. 17 of the 42 moms and dads jailed are Sefardim. The only criteria for the school is parents must sign that they will obey normal Chardedi customs. These Jews are the canary in the mine. They will come after you next.

They should be punished for their racism and lack of love for fellow Jews.

The only mistake the high court did is not to put the Rabbi of Slonim and the Chief Sefardic Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef in prison...Its one Torah and its the Torah of Moses...its redicolous that they get to play with their followers as subjects.

I leave for my first ever trip to Israel next week and it is going to be ruined by these dossids. So much for a trip of spiritual awakening.

This community is utterly morally bankrupt. For their adherence to their jots and tittles, posing as the zenith of religious scrupulosity, they are prepared to defame a whole community, humiliate publicaaly the female students who are the victims and take to violence. They are a community devoid of compassion except for their own cult, they hold up stringencies as the epitome of religion. Look what they are upholding! They bring shame on the entire House of Israel.

Greetings from America - Lets see convert nut cases refusing to attend schools with natives.

Ultra Orthodox are just as bad as muslims... please include them in the future Palestinian state so Israel is free of their stupidity !

Let these people pay for what they want. No State or other Public funds. This is valid for everything in Israel. Everything will instantly change, even the so-called government will become past history. The Arabs have only to wait until the Israeli Jews will make crumble from within!

These Haredim are wrong on so many levels -- as European Jews, they have suffered centuries of prejudice -- now they reproduce that prejudice against fellow Jews of a different colour.( If that is how they treat fellow religious Jews -- how then, would they treat gentiles? ) These Haredim have also recently been demonstrating about the removal of ancient Jewish graves -- now, what colour do you think those deceased ancient Jewish people were? Were the deceased Jews, white skinned Ashkenazim from Warsaw and Kiev and Brooklyn....? Israel and Jewish people are making themselves look really really foolish in the eyes of the world....but hey, maybe it's the world that is just 'anti Semitic' and prejudiced.....

As an Israeli citizen I feel that I live in a religious country. The ultra orthodox forgot that they are citizens in a democratic country with a clear law. SO START TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE AREN'T IN IRAN!!!!!!!

I really don't get this. Is this for real? A nation that is already fighting most of the world, is now fighting eachother. This is not Torah. This is what angers GD. This is why we have so many problems. This is why the Nations have their foot on our necks. Together we stand, devided we fall.

How can religious people behave this way? Why aren't their rabbis speaking out against the violence?

How can religious people behave this way? Why aren't their rabbis speaking out against the violence?

What kind of journalism is this? After reading the entire thing I still have no clue what is motivating the pro-segregationists. Just a vague reference to avoiding mixing traditions. The article should express their motivation, as they see it not as other imagine it. The root topic of the issue seems to have been given short shrift. This is just bad journalism. Sue

I'd like to see some reporting on specifically how this segregating of Sephardi & Ashkenazi fails halakhically, and specifically where the protesters feel they are so halakhically justified

What is it that separates us from the rest of the world ? Look at the the numbers of all the unhappy people living in California and all around America, the land of lies. The sooner you come to realize that the Jewish people are different in a special way and stop trying to integrate western cultures into the one hope left for our people then the sooner we will leave this exile. The Hareidim that are protesting, all they are doing is trying to upkeep the little walls of the ghetto that are left. These are the true jewish people. Take a good look at yourselves and ask, Is this what kept the Jewish people around for so many thousands of years ? Rather every time the Jews became assimilated into other cultures and societies they were decimated. Go read a book like Perferdy and check the value system you may be defending.

It is hard to believe we are in the 21st. century! No court should allow this pre-middlages people force their racist view on all of us. The givernment as a whole should support and protect the High Court. Little by little we are becoming Iran! Not little by little , with giant steps.

How unfortunate that the Haredi community would discriminate against a fellow Jew. And Ha'aretz, please use the term Mizrahi instead of Sephardic. I'm Sephardic in the sense that my family lived in Spain and went into Europe after the expulsion, yet continued to attend Sephardic synagogues. Nothing against my Mizrahi brethren, but proper terminology would be appreciated.

CONTRADICTION IN TERMS IN A DEMOCRACY let the hysterical Heredics run their own schools as long as they foot the bill for it. A democracy cannot underwrite and financially support segregation of the few while the majority pays for the "extremists" views...let them pay their own way if it is so important to them and NOT to others.

MAKE THEM PRIVATE $$$ SCHOOLS COMMUNITY self-SUPPORTED, and this way they can keep out the "unwashed"., and to hell with democracy.

Those neurotic psychotic fanatics are delivering Israel and the Jewish People into the hands of our worst enemies..The images of 100th ousand idiots protesting because they do not want desegregation do more damages to the image of the Jewish People than a thousand flotillas

It is staggering to see such divisiveness amongst Jewish people. Such a compact community and yet such repugnant segregation. What does it matter if someone is Ashkenazi or Sephardi? You are all Jews in the end. Segregating schoolchildren is the ugliest face of racism. To see so many people support segregation is an outright defeat of democratic values of equality. As an outsider watching this I ask myself: If there is such religious segregation among Jews themselves, how can we expect them to treat people of other religions with fairness and equality? This is a sad day for Israel indeed.

This is NOT about ashkenaz versus sefard. It is about forcing children with very different backgrounds and customs to go to school together. How would secular left-wing parents feel if THEY were forced to send their children to school with dati-le'umi "settlers" children?!? Get the idea?

Thank God I"m writing from the United States. There is no chance that any reasonable court in any country in the world would jail BOTH parents the high court should be disbanded

Within the greater population these people are a tiny minority. In fact, there are valid and sensible arguments that holding these beliefs and indulging in these practices is a form of insanity. The only real power that these people have is the power that the vast majority cedes to them. Take back their power. If they rebel and act lawlessly, teach them what they need to do to co-exist as law-abiding citizens, including the threat of incarceration, actual incarceration and deportation if the troublemakers came from elsewhere. They must understand that the Rule of Law must prevail and that the Rule of Law is not arbitrary. The Rule of Law was imposed by the citizenry through their legislators. The Rule of Law must be enforced. These people would never act with such disregard as to the law in some other country. Stop being suckers for these religious lunatics.

where were all these protestors when Sharon gave up holy land to terrorists , which was a violation of Torah ?? This was the begining and cause of all our most recent tzorot !!

but it is not there right to tell the system how to educate there children. These people are religious nut cases and they are equal to the Taliban.

The Supreme Court made a grievous error in sentencing the parents of haredi girls to jail because of their loathing of and discrimination against Sephardi Jews. After all these parents do not have minds of their own and do not make their own decisions. All they are doing is obeying orders from their rebbe. Hence it is the rebbe who should sit in jail not his brain-dead followers. It is inexcusable that parents with young children should be incarcerated simply because their capacity to think for themselves was cauterized virtually at birth - especially since the court knows exactly who is at the source of the problem. Apparently their rebbe is in pretty good fiscal shape too -- having been able to hand out bags filled with American cash to each of the coupled headed for prison. The parents of thegirls are as much victims as the Sephardi children whom they detest.

Does the Haaretz newspaper have no shame to call the parents "pro segergation"???? This is reminiscent of the whole world ganging up on Israel after the flotilla incident... several parents going to jail are of Sefardic origin all they want to do is that the children should conform to Hasidic teachings

Freedom to discriminate and segregate is a vital right...in ALL things!

Seems more like Israel is going to be three Jewish states. Just like the Ismailite cousins: Sunni Jews Shia Jews Secular Jews

As the frummers pervert the teachings of the torah and make a mockery of it, so the world perverts its judgement of the jews and reminds us to mend our ways and not pervert the teachings of the torah. Haredi judaism is a farce and has nothing to do with true torah values.

Sometimes I can't help but think the idiot in Tehran was right: Israel is going down. No Iranian nukes needed, actually they are destroying themselves. Too bad, I always liked Israel.

You can all thank your lucky stars there are no kosher Vuvuzela's in Israel. Can you emagine 100,000 blowing that glorified fish horn ..it would wake up the dead.

where only secular subjects are taught. If people want religious education they should go to "Chader" after school as I did in the UK. WE cannot have a bunch of religious thugs disturbing the country. Since I came here 40 years ago slowly, and now more rabidly religion is invading all the elements of our democracy. After 62 years of the state it is shameful that we still call Jews who are supposed to a people Ashkenazi or Sephardi.

The normally complacent Israeli electorate might finally be fed up with this haredi cancer. Snap elections with a 61 seat mandate for Kadima will end this behavior once and for all.

The haredim and other ultra orthos will be the down fall of Israel.

Im surprised their bosses let them...

They have so much time on their hands that they can continue to protest while the non-Charedi actually have to work for a living. In a way, it's good, as now the Israeli government and the whole Israeli population are aware of the crisis of Charedi takeover of Israel and will finally put an end to it.

I remember when I studied at the Ulpan in Ranana how the teachers and staff refused to allow two Ethiopian girls from Kfar Sava study with us. The girls were way more advanced than the highest level in classes being offered in Kfar Sava. Nothing was done at all to help these girls get a better Ulpan. The students in Ranana Ulpan would not help me when I complained about this. I also taught in Petach Tikvah and non-religious schools would not allow too many Ethiopian in their classes.

I don't understand why message the religious community is sending to the religious and non-religious. Never mind what impact this is having on their children. What is the message they are trying to convey. I am observant, but I think it is terrible that violence and force is being used against our soldiers and police. Don't we have enough trouble from our enemies. Why can't we learn to live together and accept each other. Why can't all the children study together.

The Rabbis are correct, in supporting the parents right of choice. in matters of Torah education! The High Court ruling, is also correct; Immanuel's school practice is racism, and must stop. Therefore, WHAT is the solution. In Judge Levi dissent, he said... "No ruling of a court in general, or the High Court in parti...cular, requires the authorization of any person, not even halakhic (Jewish law ) authority." His general statement is also correct, ONLY it's flawed in its particular application, herein. The solution? It's home schooling, for children, of the parennts objecting, unitl either a compromise or change in status occurs, consistent with the Court's ruling. Blessings, Yehoshua Ya'acov

Just amazing. And they pretend to be following God's way.

The Hardi community should respect the rule of law.. using the pretext that their segregation is based on religious belief is nothing more than a sham...their arrogant and racist behaviour is unacceptable.

Whatever happened to Col Israel arravim zeh l'zeh?

God. Apparently, a translator is, according to them, required. And that's the case even with the more reasonable groups.

This is what happens when you have plenty of time. Who pays for all this free time?? Guess who? Seculars working and paying taxes.

the media distortion here in jpost & in ynet is simply horrifying the fact that the parents wanted to create a segregated system is terrible and against jewish ethics that does not give the court the right to force the parents to send their children to the school if their misguided ethic tells them otherwise brothers & sisters please do not stay silent on this issue or we will soon loose our freedom!!!

ON bases of 45 to 50 illegal passengers per bus . 30,000 protesting orthodox would need/ use approximately 600 busses with a rental fee of 1500 nis would cost nearly by million NIS for busses only. WHERE FROM THE MILLIONS NEEDED FOR ORGANIZATION OF THIS 'PROTESTS' COME?

"Deri is focusing his efforts ... to make sure the Sephardi students study with their Ashkenazi peers. Most of the students are Ashkenazi" - 75%. So what about the other 25% of non-Ashkenazi students in the school? Do they not study with the Ashkenzim?.

If the school asks and obtains money from the government, it has to comply with all the state rules and cannot refuse any pupil. Of course the decisions of the High Court of Justice apply in the same way. Recently the High Court of the United States released a similar decision for jewish schools which must accept children from mixed couples.

Israel is beset by embarrassing problems which undermine its legitimacy, from takeovers of Palestinian houses to attacks on boats of protesters to protecting violent settlers. What do these have in common? The determination of the Haredim to impose their truly illegitimate values (segregation for one) and the conscious choice of the current, religious-right-dominated government not to stand up to them. Elect a muscular secular government, Israel, or die.

Freeloaders like teh settlers with their sense of self importance and entitlement. They dont like laws, and flaunt them when courts decide. They disobey laws as they please. Well build a huge jail and put them all in it, and treat them like prisoners. lete their faith feed them and sustain them. I for one have had enough of their crap

The second temple has been destroyed by sinat hinam. The participants to this rally are not respectable for this racism. If they don't want share Israel values they have to quit the land. Shalom from France

All these children should be sent to the IDF asap, so they can become true citizens and integrate. They should be protected at all costs from the racist bias and fanaticism they parents are trying to force upon them.

Do these ashkenazi chareidim have any idea how grave a sin this is? They are driving a huge rift between Jews. If they had love in their hearts for those Jews they consider "less religious" they would want to influence them. Instead they are haughty and arrogant, which Hashem hates. Without achdut terrible things will befall us. We will never bring redemption and the third temple until we rectify the sin of sinat chinam. This kind of thing moves us further away from that goal, not closer towards it. Woe to us all (religious, modern and secular) if we can't find a way to unite.

Bill Maher 10 years from now , sadly Israel will not be known as a Jewish State but rather a Religious state , partly because Israel will be taken over by the religious .

give them no state money and let them do whatever they want. They may ask money from Turkish goverment or Hamas - who they are helping to by their protests

Two questions for those who have fallen for the media distortion of this case: A] If this is about segregation, why is the student body in the Hasidi school mixed, with over a quarter of sepharadi origin? B] If this is about segregation, why are sepharadi parents among the parents going to jail? This is about the court's self declared right to force kids into a specific school, denying them the ability to choose their own form of education, even when at their own expense. How frightfully undemocratic !!!

As Israel treats those who dedicate themselves to Torah, so does the world treat Israel...HaKodosh boruch Hu gives us external enemies to help promote our internal sense of brotherhood and oneness. When even the proliferation of major external threats on all sides is not enough, what hope is left for the People? Especialy with a press that uses it's power to promote strife within the nation instead of unity? Anyone with the slightest inclination to see the truth can see that the issue in Emanuel is not racism or discrimation.

Typical distortion to demonize Hareidim. How can this be called a battle over segregation when %27 of the student body of the hareidi track is Sephardic? The Slonim leaders have repeatedly stated that any, any, student wiould be welcome, no matter what origin, as long as they agree to comply with the charachter of the school. Those who have been denied admission have no ethnic complaint or greivance; they were turned down only for attempting to redefine the nature of the school. Further, the concept that parents can be jailed for sending their children voluntarily to a different school, in Bnei Beraq, [as opposed to forcing a further ight in Emmanuel for control], defies all logic. If this, sending ones child o a school of your own choice can be classified as contempt, certainly we can easily find grounds to arrest every other citizen.

The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa gave its support to apartheid in the belief that separation of different ethnicities and races was pre-ordained. Israel received enough bad publicity with the flotilla. Now this?

Can someone explain to me how the Issue is racism and segregation when about 30 % of girls in the chasidish "Ashkenazi" tract are Sfardim? Does the High court have such a high percentage of Sfardim, or are they for themselves higher racists and segregationists. And why does Haarez neglect to point this out? Is Haaretz' agenda really to "get the Haredim" , truth be damned?

Why do you insist on writing Ashkenazi when many of the parents being arrested are actually Sephardic? This distorts and does injustice to the actual intention of the parents and the families

Why don't parents of secular schools end up in Jail when their children commit actual violence? The reason is, because then you would have to lock up the whole country!

The court’s decision is rude, unreasonable and nothing but an evil violation of basic human rights. The fact that there is no other court for the parents to appeal does not mean that the court is entitled to render unreasonable decisions like that. This is a type of decision that one expects to find in dictatorships, not in a country that claims to be a democracy. There is a clear black flag flying over Edmond Levi’s ruling to try to force the parents by jail to send their children to Edmond Levy’s school of choice.. The Knesset has to immediately step forward and prevent this evil and stupidity from taking place, even if the Knesset does not like or agree with the parents positions. A parent has a natural right not to send his children to the Government’s school of choice . Shame on you Edmond Levy!

Mizrachi girls do study in that Beis Yaakov. It's about upholding religious norms for that particular school according to Slonim standards, which are not the same as others who might want to study there. While I disagree with their standards, they do have a right to them.