http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3562768,00.html
Girls, go to the back'
Rabbinical trans****tation committee calls on
young women to ride buses in halachic manner,
meaning to congregate in back of bus,
even in those buses not deemed 'kosher',
in which driver won't open back door
Neta Sela
Published: 07.02.08, 07:29 / Israel Jewish Scene
In a brochure distributed recently
among the girls of the Beit Yaakov
congregation,
the Rabbinical Committee of
Trans****tation asked the young
women to preserve "halachic riding"
during every bus ride,
and not only on the buses defined as "kosher".
A kosher bus is one that allows the
boarding of men through the front door,
while women board using the back door.
"Unfortunately there are still buses
driving through the ultra-Orthodox
neighborhoods that have not received
permission from the Trans****tation
Ministry to open the back door for
the female travelers,"
the rabbis explained in the handout.
They therefore requested that
"these bus lines also be
converted to kosher lines,
by having the female travelers
congregate in the back of the
bus after paying."
The committee hopes this move
"will cause the trans****tation
companies to come to their senses,
hurry up and make these lines kosher,
and permit the opening of the back
door in them as well."
In their letter to the young women
of Beit Yaakov the rabbis stressed
that those girls who are strict
about their own modesty should
see it as a privilege,
and asked them to advise their
friends to sit in the back of
the bus.
"Thanks to the preservation of
the modesty and sanctity limitations
we will gain the inspiration of the
Divine Presence of creation,
an abundance of wealth and
happiness and everything good,"
the rabbis blessed the girls.
Next goal: Train wreck
The rabbis are also preparing
for their battle against Jerusalem's
new light train, which,
in their opinion,
holds various dangers in its wake.
In an ad published by the committee,
the rabbis explain that once the
train is completed,
the Trans****tation Ministry
plans to cancel many of the
ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods'
kosher bus lines,
thus forcing the inhabitants
to make use of the new train.
The rabbis stated that
"the light train is not
compatible with the needs
of the ultra-Orthodox public,
material or spiritual,
and the intention to coerce
the ultra-Orthodox public
into using the light train
constitutes a grave spiritual
danger."
The rabbis added that
"the Trans****tation Ministry
intends to alter the courses
of the buses that serve the
general public and reroute
them through Geula neighborhood,
thus completely ruining the
spiritual identity of the neighborhood."
The rabbis called on those who
can to assist in the matter,
as these plans
"completely ignore the needs
of the ultra-Orthodox public,
and will cause the collapse
of the ultra-Orthodox
trans****tation layout
in Jerusalem,
which required much labor to achieve."
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