Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the forced removal of a female passenger from her bus seat by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man on a public bus during a cabinet meeting, stating that Israel “must protect its public space, and maintain its openness and safety for all citizens.”

Netanyahu openly denounced the exclusion of women from the public space, adding that the country must not allow fringe groups to break up “all that we have in common.”

Netanyahu’s condemnation came one day after Tanya Rosenblit was told by an ultra-Orthodox male passenger to move to the back of the bus. The man held the door of the bus open and would not allow it to move for approximately 30 minutes.

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima) phoned Rosenblit in wake of the incident, praising her action for sending a strong message that “respects Judaism, yet is not willing to accept the anti-democratic radicalization which excludes women.”

For more, go to Haaretz.com

It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.

This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions. 

We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.

As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday! 

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a gift and our board will match it.

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

$129 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT