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PM's Beit Shemesh division plan slammed
Moran Azulay
Published: 28.12.11, 12:17
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1. That won't work Bibi.
Ypip ,   Canada   (12.28.11)
Israel needs to look at various programs that can provide educational, vocational, and social support to those seeking to enter or explore the world beyond the insular ultra-religious communities that they were raised. People from the ultra-orthodox and Chasidic communities who choose to enter mainstream Israeli society face cultural disorientation and isolation coupled with a lack of practical and marketable skills. It is these people who are of Israel's greatest assets. Israel needs to assist such people who choose to make this difficult transition. There are such organizations in Canada and the United States. Are there in Israel? If not, there should be.
2. Separation of state from religion.
Philip ,   Afula, Israel   (12.28.11)
The solution is so simple and to the benefit of the whole country.
3. Beit Shemesh
Henri25 ,   Brussels Belgium   (12.28.11)
Bibi, are you creasy ? These extremists would be arrested in every developed country. I really feel ashamed.
4. The stupidity of Solomon
Dan   (12.28.11)
Like Solomon, King Bibi proposes to split the contested baby in half. Unlike Solomon, he really think the baby should be split. This is a fool, not a national leader.
5. THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND (ORTHODOX) JUDAISM.
SJOERD RUURD VAN DER ,   MULTIVERSE   (12.28.11)
WHAT ABOUT ORTHODOX, RELIGIOUS ZIONISM/ JUDAISM, FORCED OR VOLUNTARILY (FOR EVERYBODY)? ALSO MUCH WISDOM WISHED IN PRINCIPLE, FOR THAT CASE, FOR TO HANDLE THAT ISSUE.
6. In 5 minutes Bibi will deny it was his idea.Misquoted again.
Justin Bieber ,   Hollywood   (12.28.11)
7. Sounds like Bibi disgusted and doesn't know
Barbara ,   Haifa Israel   (12.28.11)
what to do. On one side he agrees with seculars that the extremist haredim have gone too far with their ideas and on the other side, he's counting his political votes.
8. Haredism
Yahudi ,   Jerusalem, Israel   (12.28.11)
The behavior of these Haredim is a cause of revulsion. We do not need these people here in Israel. This should be a democratic country. It is time to have separation between church and state. People who break the law should be arrested and punished appropriately.
9. We need a PM with leadreship abilities
Ehud ,   Jerusalem , Israel   (12.28.11)
not a wimp fearful and lacking of any ability to lead. Bibi you must know by now that you are not a leader ,so why prolong your and our misery.Perhaps you could hide away at the foreign ministry, perhaps finance ?Just go !!!
10. #1 Some / most hardim do not want to change
rebecca ,   Modiin   (12.28.11)
R U suggesting forcing them to change?
11. #2 just keep repeating the same old thing
rebecca ,   Modiin   (12.28.11)
with no practical way of implementing it - and eventually hopefully your fingers will get sore and you'll stop making totally impractical slogans.
12. There is no problem with Betar Ilit or Modiin Ilit
rebecca ,   Modiin   (12.28.11)
because they are separate areas. Bibi is simply looking at what works and trying to fix Beit Shemesh that way.
13. Seculars are as extremists as Haredim
Keren ,   IL-BR   (12.28.11)
It is horrible people wanting to meddle in the way of living of the other. Let anyone live the way they are pleased! If social violence occurs,in both sides,police should intervene;if not ,let one and another alone to live their lives. Rabbis and politicians should influence people in this way of compromising,what would be not really compromising but stopping interfering in others rights.Both ways. No side is so "pure",so,please,stop with this no -sense because we,as Israelis and Jews, have tougher ,much tougher problems, to deal with and such problems are comming not from within but from without.
14. I am glad to live in the U.S.A.
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (12.28.11)
15. # 11
Philip ,   Afula, Israel   (12.28.11)
Maybe someday you will understand, hopefully, before its too late. I doubt it however.
16. My plan.
D ,   Botswana   (12.28.11)
Any haredi man that insults or harrases a woman get his benefits taken from him and if he belongs to a yeshiva, then the yeshiva loses all government money, this should stop the harrasment easily.
17. 10-Not at all; as you can obviously read.
Ypip ,   Canada   (12.28.11)
However, there are also those who do, and should be given the proper council and support system to do so.
18. Bibi was not the first to say it & it's complicated
Esther Ivgy ,   Beit Shemesh, Israel   (12.28.11)
As usual, the media grabs at soundbites. The idea of dividing the city has been bantered around, and rejected, for a couple years. The basis is that it is very frustrating for the "old" Beit Shemesh residents to basically support the Ramah residents, many of whom are very poor and are heavily subsidized. Key part of the problem with the chareidim is that the neighborhood with the radicals is smack in the middle of the whole city, with the only road within the city from "old" BS to the moderate Ramah Aleph running through the radical "Bet". This has been a major reason that many secular left "Aleph".
19. division is ridiculous
yaacovic   (12.28.11)
And why not allocate areas in Arab towns to Islamists who want to live under Sharia law? These Jewish extremists live in a country where everyone has to abide by the law including them. Women in Haredi society are silent. Their voice is not heard but they must have equal opportunity to protest injustices perpetrated against them if they wish to speak out. By suggesting Haredis be hived away in special ghettos, it is as if society has acknowledged these women's unimportance and denied them free choice and the right to speak up.
20. Don't divide a City.
Mark ,   Jerusalem   (12.28.11)
I did not make Aliya to Israel so that Jews should live divided. These people have to understand that there are other people other than themselves. There are laws and they have to keep to them. If this is too hard for them then they should move to a community that is only Haradi. The answer is not to divide a city but to have tolerance with each other. Just as Sephardim and Ashkenazim have to live together so do Haradi, religious and secular people have a status quo. If they continue to act like animals then they should be locked up in cages like one. They make new religious laws; the Torah did not create such differences between men and women, they are over exaggerating Torah law. A division in synagogue only needs to be no more than a meter high; the veil on a bride does not need to be a sheet that you don’t see who you’re marring. Jewish law is not always easy to keep, when a woman is in Nida (her period) husband and wife don’t sit together or touch, but these laws are private matters and they are making them into public ones and degrading them. I do not remember one of the 613 commandments stating that you can not sit in a bus next to a woman, is a man allowed to sit next to a homosexual, may be he should wear a rainbow. I get the feeling that Haradim are over sexed and afraid that their penis will pop out of their pants. If Bibi divides a city because people can not learn to live together, a good example Maale Adumim then Bibi will loose my vote.
21. division
forehead1 ,   ohio usa   (12.28.11)
if netanyahu can divide Beit Shemesh --- why not Jerusalem too?
22. ridiculous
sarah ,   Jerusalem Israel   (12.28.11)
The town can't be divided--this is ridiculous. The neighborhoods entertwine like jig-saw puzzle pieces. The solution is to enforce the laws: if people assault others, they should be arrested and punished. There is no "religious exception" to the penal code. Seeing people dressed differently from you bothers you? Move to Boro Park or some other ghetto. You don't come to Israel, dodge military and national service, dodge taxes, demand stipends from working people while you live on the dole, and then demand your own ghetto from amidst the cities the rest of us have built.
23. #14 We're glad you live in the USA
Talula ,   Israel   (12.28.11)
So now maybe you'll concentrate on issues at home and leave us to ours.
24. Split the Nation:what haredi want; Curse them
Tambour ,   Eilat   (12.28.11)
25. They are not like us
Daniel ,   Tel Aviv   (12.28.11)
This is a good idea in principle. We have to accept that haredi and secular jews can not co-exist; we have nothing in common, we live in the 21 st century, they live by the standards of biblical times. The ultra-orthodox are the greatest threat to the state of Israe, because they want to destroy its democratic and secular values from within and they believe that demography is on their side. The tax-paying secularists should demand that the benefit system in israel is completely changed as to not advantage these people and encourage them to have huge families.
26. NOT too Solomonic Beeb.....
Gideon Reader   (12.28.11)
...In school I ALWAYS had trouble with long division. Those messy franctions. Bibi now has his own troubles with not only the fractured fractions, but those nasty factions and remainders. No. dividing a municipality by individual sects and religio outlooks is a recipe for internal, self deluded internal disaster. It is not so Solomonic to divide the Beit Shemesh baby. Bring in the players. Sit them down, in closed confabulation and talk "tachlis". There is a way to gather and focus the attention of the Mule. I do not believe in animal abuse of any kind, but the application of a metaphoric 2X4 may be necessary.
27. The arabs will then use this as a
jason white ,   afula,israel   (12.28.11)
precedent to divide Jerusalem our Jewish capitol. Instead send those hara-dim into exile as an example of what we will do to the arabs in the next intifada. Remember we can live without the hara-dim, but they cannot live without us. We should cut all funds to hara-di institutions and nomore child allowances for them to breed.
28. THIS IS SAD. FORGET THE HATE AND UNITE!!!
One   (12.28.11)
These are times when we are at our weakest. Beware the pounce of the real enemies who see us in these sad moments. Do we [sadly] need a bomb threat in order to get us to unite?? We must stick together in order to survive! Stop with the fighting. Stop with the hate.
29. Bibi, rather A Golden Middle way...
ORA ,   JERUSALEM   (12.28.11)
Israel for ALL tolerant citizens. Most citizens don t want to live upon the standards of the extreme elements of their society.
30. Splitting? Nooooooo !
Nora Tel Aviv   (12.28.11)
You don`t want to split a bus, but you want to split Beit Shemesh the city ? What kind of a logic is that? Can you imagine the consequences? What about splitting Bnei Braq? Or better, Jerusalem?? Swallow your tongue fast.
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