Hundreds of Haredi Orthodox men rioted in the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh, hours after 8-year-old Na’ama Margolese returned to school for the first time.

The Haredim set trash bins alight and threw rocks at police and bystanders as police attempted to disperse the crowd on Thursday evening.

Three rioters were arrested; there were no reports of injuries.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The disturbances reportedly began next to a Modern Orthodox girls’ school that has been at the center of controversy over violence against women by Haredim. Some Haredi men from an adjacent neighborhood have harassed and spit at young girls and their mothers on their way to the school, accusing them of immodesty.

A recent Israeli television report focused national attention on one of the students, 8-year-old Na’ama Margolese, who became afraid to walk to school. On Thursday morning, following a week of school vacation for Hanukkah, Margolese returned to the school, escorted by her mother and television cameras.

Thousands gathered in Beit Shemesh on Tuesday night for a mass protest against the exclusion and harassment of women in the public sphere.

The recent rioting followed attacks against police earlier in the week. Those clashes were sparked by authorities removing a sign in a Haredi neighborhood of Beit Shemesh that called for separation of the sexes. Television journalists reporting on the tensions in Beit Shemesh have also been attacked and harassed by Haredim.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount