Egged Bus Blocked By Chareidi Protesters In Bnei Brak- Because The Driver Was Female

 

Charedim waiting for an Egged bus in Bnei Brak Sunday blocked the bus when it arrived in protest over the driver- who was a woman. “They refused to enter and prevented her from continuing the route,” passersby reported.

The bus, No. 146 travelling from Bnei Brak to Holon, was on the route in the early afternoon when it was stopped by passengers who demanded to ride on a bus which is not driven by a woman.

The Egged company responded to the incident, stating that “this was a serious and disgraceful incident and we sharply condemn harming workers of the Egged bus company who are faithfully performing their jobs. The 146 bus from Bnei Brak was blocked by an extremist group of hooligans who do not represent the residents of the city. We hope that law enforcement authorities will bring these hooligans to justice so that attacks of this type will not repeat themselves in Bnei Brak or in any place in Israel.”

Gender separation is a controversial issue which is frequently in the headlines. In 2011 the Supreme Court ruled that gender separation on buses is only permitted with the agreement of all the passengers. There are Mehadrin buses in may chareidi enclaves. Deputy transportation minister Uri Maklev favors the establishment of “separate-gender routes” and has called on women to accept such segregations, claiming that this “is not feminine exclusion but rather a feminine benefit.”