Women to Israeli government: no to back of the bus

By Sarah Breger Last week's news of Nofrat Frenkel's arrest for wearing a Taalit at the Western Wall caused outrage among those concerned (and frustrated by) the relationship between religion and law in Israel. Yet there is another more troubling issue that will be decided at the end of the month. On December 27th, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz of Likud must decide whether or not he will uphold his committee’s recommendation to get rid of gender-segregated bus lines in Israel. The first gender-segregated, or as they are called in Israel, mehadrin lines (after a strict kosher supervision category) were introduced in 1977, and their numbers have been increasing ever since. On these buses, which run through ultra-religious neighborhoods in Jerusalem or Bnei Brak, women board from the rear entrance and are not allowed to enter if they are...

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