Israeli Students Appoint Themselves ‘Bus Police’ To Enforce Manners
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Crossposted from Haaretz
While students in Great Britain set fire to London to protest tuition hikes, in Israel a different kind of student protest is surfacing. No, it’s not against the scandalous “avrekhim law,” which differentiates between students in post high school educational institutions and yeshiva students. The cause that has inspired some students to demonstrate is their disgust with the undignified behavior of passengers on Israeli public transportation.
Under the auspices of a project known as “Mishtarbus” (a Hebrew acronym for “bus manners police” ), students from the College of Administration decided once and for all to establish some order in the public transportation system. The group is seeking to eliminate such nuisances as loud ringtones, chattering across seats and ignoring senior citizens who are forced to stand. Five communications students taking a course on social networking are the driving force behind this project: Sandra Veller from Ra’anana, Tal Gvili from Kiryat Ono, Ran Amichai from Holon, Barak Ben Shimon from Mevasseret Zion and Lihi Ben David from Tel Aviv.
Read more at Haaretz.com.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chiefSupport our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
