Summary of story from 972Mag, December 17, 2011

When Tanya Rosenblit had to get from her hometown Ashdod to Jerusalem for a meeting, she decided to take the bus.

Looking at the timetables of the leading bus company in Israel, Rosenblit chose the one most convenient for her destination.

Once on the bus, however, she was told by a Haredi – an ultra-Orthodox man – to get to the back of the bus, or nobody was going to go anywhere.

And what do you think Rosenblit did? That’s right – she stayed put. And she took pictures of the whole ordeal and later wrote about it on Facebook. Here’s some of her story:

‘The driver looked at the station where I was standing and didn’t stop. I had to signal him by raising my hand for him to stop…He explained that the only ones who go on [that] bus are Orthodox Jews. I sat behind him in the first row and asked for him to tell me when we get to my station.

‘At the next stop, Orthodox Jews started mounting the bus. At first, they just stared at me, but said nothing and moved on to sit somewhere in the bus behind us…

‘But then, another one entered the bus, but instead of entering, he prevented the driver from closing the door. …I heard him call me “Shikse”, which means “whore” in Yiddish. He demanded I sit in the back of the bus, because Jewish men couldn’t sit behind women. I refused.

‘The driver understood he was not going to move anytime soon, so he called the police…a crowd started forming outside the bus, as a result of his cries. I was starting to get scared, to tell you the truth. There were like 20 of them, all wearing black.

‘…[A] policeman came and asked me if I was willing to respect them and sit in the back of the bus. I answered that I respected them enough by wearing modest cloths, because I knew I was going to an Orthodox neighborhood, but I wouldn’t be humiliated by those who can’t even respect their own mothers and wives.’

Rosenblit wishes to make sure that her cry is not against the ultra-Orthodox as a whole, saying “The extremists are the problem. In Israel 2011 we are waging a battle for individual rights. We should fight for freedom and tolerance for all.”