Does the Modiin municipality mean that both sides were satisfied that the boy had to leave the team, and go elsewhere? The amount of national religious are growing enormously in Modiin - they are an educated, cultured, law abiding community. However, the amount of help that the municipality gives for synagogues, schools, mikvehs, etc. is totally pathetic. There is a (not so) quiet war being fought here against the religious.

Kids will be kids but where was the adult. To me this incidence isn't an example of secular prejudice it's an example of bad education and sportsmanship. The coach just wasn't doing his job. To me this isn't an example of religious vs secular, it's an example of kids bullying a new kid who is different. The coach should have intervened and helped the new boy get acceptance.

“I thought that it would be nice for the boy if he met new friends even if they were not religious ,

leave france - come live in israel and you need never know antisemitism again

please bear in mind that this was not an actual quote. The parent spoke in hebrew, which was then translated (more or less) in to English. As we know - a lot is lost in translation.

It is so sad that the liberals only take up the side of the Arabs but not the side of the Jews. What happen to the secular sense of fair play and acceptance. Perhaps, they only accept others who think as themselves!

Poor French immigrants! Being a Russian immigrant I understand their feelings. Soon they will understand that the Israeli children's hatred towards the religious Jews is only a tip of the iceberg. Israel seems to be the only country of the free world where antisemitism is not only goes unpunished but is actually encouraged. Sorry, but it's true.

from Israel.

The truth is that it is not very newsworthy. First of all the soccer coach is to be faulted for not taking a more proactive stance on the issue. However for many people this is part of growing up. Many outsiders from different groups in every culture are annitially rejected by their peers. It is up to the supervisors to help things along. Also the new kid will have to stand his/her ground in order to gain acceptance.

I always learned that an incident like this is an opportunity to talk and bring the kids together with understanding. That said the whole concept of separate but equal in the schools will never work. Kids of all of the different shades of Judaism and other religions must learn together. Different elective classes can be offered but the basics must be learned together.

Need I remind all the whiners on the talkbacks that the same rules apply to Muslims and Hindus in France- i.e. Hijabs and Turbans, respectively, are banned from the public systems and facilities? Unfair regulations? Absolutely. But stop crying and complaining as if this was purely an anti-Jewish thing. It's about time you recognized that OTHER people also suffer discrimination (maybe that'll help sensitize you a bit to the plight of the Palestinians you suffocate). How sad.

Come on, that is pathetic. Because of an isolated incident, israel is an "antisemitic place" and not worthy of making aliya to. Quit with your excuses, because for every one of these minor instances, there are thousands of wonderful experiences that we as religious olim have experienced. Brian, if you dont want to make aliya...dont. but dont use examples like these to prove you have made the right choice. Israel is the greatest blessing to the jewish people in two thousand years. is it perfect, no, of course not. but it is an inordinate amount of times better than the US and Russia for Jews.

Hello, I suggest to this Netiv Zvulun School in Modiin to have a "nice" experience playing in one of outskirts Paris soccer field in order to feel what does mean to be jew! It's almost ashamed to put this kind of article in your ynetnews. What do you belive a Jew French reader will understand?

him. I sufffered from ostracism at schools for having to wear homemade clothes and a decades old Girl Scout uniform that caused children to mistreat me. I thought my clothes were beautiful because my mother made them. Perhaps they were and the other children were jealous. But the old Girl Scout dress was from the Salvation Army Store and the tormenting was merciless. So I left the Girl Scouts, prefering the better company of books like the Bible. I wish I could have left the awful schools, too.

any understanding of what is gonig on and what is the root of the matter. Everybody shouts "antisemitism " and "how can this happen in Israel". I do not expect a new immigrant to understand, I certainly do not expect the child to understand, but for secular folks like me who have lived here all our lives and know the truth and the history of the rise of the religious factions and their negative influence on our society it is very easy to understand. The religious have brought all this hatred upon themselves, they have only themselves to blame. I feel sorry for the boy because it is wrong and very damaging but I also feel very sorry for our society because we are unable to stand up to the demands of the religious and this is what causes friction and incidents like this. It trickles down from the parents to the children, very sad.

unless you don't know the difference.

Children pick up hate from their parents. What kind of parents do they have that they could express such hatred!! There has to be a meeting among all involved to eliminate such animosity!

Do you think that's the reason you suffered ostracism. I can think of a few other reasons after reading your letters. However back to the boy. Running away never helps. As an educator, I see this as an opportunity for a lesson for both sides. You can only learn tolerance, if you meet people who are different. When I studied at Haifa University, I felt privileged to be in discussion forums with Religious, secular and Arab.

You can not eliminate animosity you can only eliminate the root cause of animosity. For every action there is a reaction.

baseball and was verbally attacked and bullied by the group of Catholic kids in my class, non-religious Israelis it seems have the same Jew hatred going on in their minds.

We now have a generation of self hating Israeli youngsters in what was supposed to be the Jewish State.

of the religious that is constant in the media

explain to me why you think I hate Jews. Does it seem rational that a person like me who knows and loves every grain of sand in this land of ours, every pathway, ancient and modern, should be called a Jew hater. Is it reasonable that you should call me a Jew hater after I have dedicated a long life to this land and its People. I, like many others, do not hate religious folks, no matter from which faction, I only understand that they cause the reactions to them by the very nature of their own actions. This makes me an antisemite Jew hater ? Try something new, like understanding the problem and its roots and offering a solution, a sensible one such as no religious coercion should be allowed in politics.

Don't bother relating to those TB's. Sagi you express yourself very coherently. As a secular who has lived here since 1972 your point of view is clear to me. I made Aliya because I was proud to be Jewish. I love every inch of this country. All three of my children have served in the army and what extremism is doing to this country hurts. These kids aren't being ant- Semetic they are being anti_religious and it seems to me instead of throwing accusations, we should be teaching tolerance.

"You can not eliminate animosity you can only eliminate the root cause of animosity. For every action there is a reaction." I'm not one of the penguins, but you can only eliminate the root causes? So that means we should all just pack up, apologize, leave, and convert to islam, right? I mean, that's the root cause of terrorism.

and they didnt print it. So thank you.

Who bought a property "on plans" 14 years ago, moved in 12 years ago, one of the first 300 families (and left three years ago TG), I would suggest that any of the talkbackers try to take a non-religious (non kippa wearing kid) to a hug at one of the religious school and see what happens. The child without a kippa would not even be allowed to join the hug, let alone worry about whether or not the other kids would talk to him.... or pass him the ball. It is not the secular discriminating against the religious in Modiin, but most often the other way around, just most people dont make a fuss about it ..... We lived in a neighborhood that was not marketed as religious, but gradually more and more religious families moved in, and my kids had no neighbors to play with because THEY were not accepted by the majority... We should all live together and let our kids play together regardless of colour or degree of religion, but the tolerance has to come from both sides