January 6: The Back of the Bus

Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled on this date in 2011 that mehadrin bus lines run by public bus companies, which force gender segregation and other religious codes of dress and behavior, are unlawful. “A public transportation company (like any other person) cannot say, ask or order women where to sit on a bus simply because they are women,” wrote Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, “nor what they should wear . . . I am astounded that there was even a need to write [these words] in the year 2010. Have the days of Rosa Parks, the African American woman who collapsed the racist segregation on an Alabama bus in 1955, returned?” The ruling did permit “voluntary” gender segregation on already existing bus routes and set up a supervisory apparatus for these, as well as requiring signage that reads: “Every passenger is permitted to sit in any seat he wishes . . . Harassing a passenger regarding this matter could constitute a criminal violation.” Nevertheless, the Court’s ruling has been widely ignored in the haredi community, abusive behavior towards women who resist the religious expectations of men on these bus routes has been frequently reported, and several haredi millionaires have stepped in to launch private mehadrin bus service (the word literally means “beautified” or “embellished” and refers to stringent religious observance). Israeli public opinion runs strongly against the gender-segregated buses.

“Fringe groups must not be allowed to tear apart our common denominator. We must preserve public space as open and safe for all citizens of Israel.” —Benjamin Netanyahu