The Haredi are now laying the ground work for their eventual expulsion from the US with their unbelievable cheek in demanding special treatment from their host country. The chutzpah of this section of my fellow Jews is beyond belief. They emigrated from the ghettos of Russia and Poland only wishing to create one for themselves in the US; do they have no shame for denigrating the freedoms that Democracy has given them.

separation of the genders in a pool has nothing to do with establishment of a religion. true religion supports common decency, but are laws against incest also an establishment of religion since religion forbids it?? same goes for dress codes in stores.

Outrageous, simply outrageous, the demands of these people. Okay,in hei own homes..let them do what they want. In synagogues, they have rights. But when the public is involved in any way, including tax benefits,health laws, sanitation, etc., the US Constituion primes any Charedi or other religious laws. Wh not have Sharia..or certain Christian beliefs ( no meat on Fridays) as well in the law? The Baptists and Mormons live by strick rules of conduct, not acceptable to most Americans. The response that they only obey their laws (Chardi) is tantamount to sedition. The people are so insulated that they just dont get it. Leave the majorityh of us, Jeww and non Jews to live our lives, uner US laaw. If you dont like our rules, then move. This crowd is aidng the anti Semities and may drag us into another Holocaust. I would suggest they move to Israel, but most Israelis dont want them either, high birth rate notwithstanding. The Chritian TV show, TBN gives the other side of religious intolerance...demanding prayers in schools, etc. When the Ortrhodox hear about these things, its a schonda. Well, you people are a schonda to us. Lets face it, as with the M.E. conflict, both sides have to compromise..or there will be wars continually. NY is not the M.E however...we are on nation, one people, one set of laws, no exceptions.

As Tevye would say, "On one hand" their devotion, their religious zeal is commendable – "On the other hand" they are driving everyone else mishugah! Shabbat Shalom.

To think that these people and I are from the same tribe makes me sick.

What a bunch of backward, retarded Morons! They should move back to Poland and re-establish their degenerate Shtetles. People like these do not belong in the 21st century!

So long for all the American whiners about how Europe is becoming Muslim. Get lost!

These guys, in America and Israel, have to realize that they live in a democracy with certain civil rights, like sitting anywhere on a bus, guaranteed to all citizens, male and female, of any race or religion. They do not get to rewrite the laws of the state or demand special consideration from the state based on their definition of religious propriety or to protect themselves from being offended. In a free society, the comfort zone of some does not define the zone of civil rights of others. If the orthodox get offended by seeing women sitting with a man on a bus, tough. Don't ride the damn bus. The woman on the bus does not have to change her behavior of give up her rights so that some orthodox guy doesn't get offended. And any man who assaults a woman for riding with man on the bus should be arrested and imprisoned. Freedom does not mean the freedom to never feel uncomfortable. This is why there must always be a separation between religion and the state. Just look at the rest of the Middle East if you want to see what happens when each religious sect demands to control the laws of the state. Jews can't go down that road.

Orthodox Jews just don't belong anywhere in the 21st century Not in Jerusalem and not in New York, not in Netivot and not in London. Similarly to the American Indian who, tragically, didn't belong in the 17-18th century and ended suffering deeply. A special solution will be need, it must be found. I think placing Orthodox Jews in isolated reservations in the desert somewhere might be the right thing to do.

it says there are 330,000 orthodox jews. not correct. a recent comprehensive survey put the number at 500,000 with 330,000 being ultra-orthodox (probably the source of their error).

I wouldn't want anyone to get on the bad side of Rev. Al, but I will make an exception to these religious thugs. They can take each other out in the ensuing brouhaha..

because of people who choose to be modest and insist others are, too.

The US is not Israel. There is no establishment of religion in the US; there is no "state" religion. The Haredim are entitled to the same consideration as anyone else - no more, no less. Gender segregation on public transit like racial segregation is against the law. A public pool is just that - for everyone. If you don't like the gender of the lifeguard too bad - come another day. It's no different than not liking the race or ethnicity of the lifeguard - it's not negotiable. Some alteration of weekend parking rules near synagogues - fine; that's done routinely all over the US. If you can bring well water to the same standard of purity as municipal water - fine. Same with fire codes in Haredi bakeries which are routinely flouted - not allowable; comply or be shut down. Haredim always have one more stricture, one more demand - whatever the Rebbe dictates the flock demands. Shield pedophiles - no problem. Suck on surgical wounds - never mind the consequences; the Rebbe says do it - so they do. If the US doesn't suit them or NY doesn't suit them let them move themselves to someplace deserted the way the Mormons did - but then they'd have to work like pioneers and not sit in kollel all day every day. No section 8. No welfare benefits. No Medicaid. Much better to stay put in NY state and make demands. The thing is eventually if they push too hard someone will push back even harder. NY is not Beit Shemesh.

Sounds a lot like sharia law to me. No place for this kind of crap in the West.

Hareidim making demands will only encourage anti-Semitism. Today it will be demands for tznius (if you don't know the word, look it up. This is a Jewish site) only in Hareidi areas. Tomorrow it will be demanded in every section of NY to become "Torah compliant" because Hareidim "might" go there. Anyone objects, Hareidim will protest vigourously. Once NY falls, Toronto and Montreal will quickly follow. Then (I'll bet you didn't see this coming) the Ay-rabs will think "if the Jews can throw their weight around and get what they want, then so can we". They will make demands to have Sharia law, not only for Muslims but for every New Yorker. If they don't get what they ask for, they'll blow up buildings and kill people. NY will become uninhabitable, another Detroit. Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh will turn into ghost towns too. Mark my words. Of course Ynet won't print this because I got angry and told the truth. Can't have that. Here's the rub in a nutshell: If we let Hareidi fanatics push us around, we've only got ourselves to blame. The secular on the bus who belted the Hareidi who was harassing the woman is a hero in my book. If they can harass people, then the people can fight back. Power to the people! Any Hareidi pushes me around is getting a fist in the face!

Ironic - the very freedoms afforded all Americans - especially us - the Jews- lead to This mishigaus Every perceived problem theHeredi encounter has a practical solution Whether through a private company like bus service or loop holes likes waiver for Brit The problem begins when small victories by the group - any group- are granted -- then it's impossible to control

These people are a religious cult who think they are holy but in there action are misleading, and what they do is blasphemy, and they are a pagan cult.

When I hear all this my blood boils. Here in Israel the Haredim are trying to take over. In New York they are alienating the population. They should buy some land in the mid west, unpopulated area, build their own city, and have a keep out sign for non Haredim. Then they can do whatever they want, Get a female lifeguard, travel on men only, and women only buses, make matzeh from ground water,....whatever...........

USA should not tolerate religious dictates from any religious group. Humanity has to progress.

"our" people in its grip as well. The so called "moral values" these religion-drugged individuals have managed to inflict upon western society have more in common with sexually based phobias & neurosis, than anything remotely resembling morality. To ask loudly, without any shame for special privileges, has until now been typical of 'Religion of Peace"(Islam if you're in doubt:-). Looks that our liberalism will do us in in the end...

If someone allowed you under his roof say thank you, blend in and contribute like the rest of family, don't try to rearrange his furniture and impose your stone age customs if you want to stay there. Despite all expulsions, pogroms and holocaust this brainfarts didn't get the message and have't learn a damn think ,...

I don't care what religion the group is - I don't want to allow special treatment on public buses or other publicly-funded facilities. (Don't care about the stores - public taxes don't support the stores.) Once this group gets special allowances, I can see other groups asking for them as well. We have a wide range of religious groups in the US. Each probably would like some accommodation made for them. I read the water issue was solved when filters were put in place so the water tested up to city standards. This seems like a reasonable compromise because the issue was from the NYC Health Dept. and concerned water purity. Pool and bus problem can be solved by getting private pools and private transport. When you own the facility you can make whatever rule you want. Perhaps they don't realize that in the US 'sitting in the back of the bus' has a *very* negative connotation? If I were told that I *had* to sit in the back of the bus due to my gender - I'd be very insulted because of what 'sitting in the back of the bus' has historically meant in the US.

I am mostly ashamed by the intolerance of most of the talkbacks. The USA that I remember was supposed to be tolerant of others religious beliefs. Let the orthodox make their claims in court to defend their rights and religious beliefs. If the court grants it, that is a victory for democracy, and a defeat for all the nazi anti-Semitic self hating Jews. If the court doesn't grant the Orthodox Jews their religious freedoms and beliefs, then they should consider moving to Eretz Yisroel where they have a future and help make a real difference, as a tue light to the nations, where the message will be heard loud and clear to the whole world. Kol Hakavod to them for trying.

You mean, self imposed just like those in Mea Shearim or Monsey, NY ,...

In this shop, please opbserve the following dress code: No long black coats No big black hats made of murdered animals No long side locks No women with head coverings

Yeah right like the Poles or anyone else missed them in Europe or anywhere - Keep 'em ,...

First, please... no more misogynistic, loony fringe cultists in Israel, intimidating women, forcing their weird 15th century codes on the rest of the population, threatening soldiers, refusing to give anything to the country that's given them for decades and now using mob violence because the party's finally over. No, no, no, not here, please not here. Let American law deal with them. If they don't like that either, let one of them invent a time machine and send back into the 14th century. Maybe only then will they finally be happy instead of having nothing better to do but think up more obsessive compulsive behavior to impose on the rest of the world.

Before you make a claim in US Court of justice why don't you ask your lazy black hatted con-artists to get an education, a job before they start making babies and do some counting how many they can support without forcing their neighbors to pay for their double digit families ,...