Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Reform movement: Sex-segregated Egged buses are illegal

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. 
 
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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 of the Israeli Reform movement.
Mica scemi questi falsi ebrei, eh?
Tb

Tonibaruch ha scritto:

loro non sono falsi ebrei, mentre tu...

 loro non sono falsi ebrei, mentre tu...
Ah.
E IYO come si distingue un ebreo falso da uno vero?
Tb

 E IYO come si distingue un ebreo falso da uno vero?
si chiede ad agnosco/nahum/shampista/comecazzosichiama
oppure un bel dibattito su ice
mi sembra ovvio
-- 
Luca Logi - Firenze - Italy        e-mail: 
ll...@dada.it

 E IYO come si distingue un ebreo falso da uno vero?
un bel dibattito su ice, mi sembra ovvio
oppure una corte rabbinica, per esempio composta da agnosco, nahum e la
shampista
