Jerusalem, Israel - Bleach War Against Immodest Women

Jerusalem, Israel - More and more women in the Geula neighborhood have been complaining of being sprayed with bleach.

For Instance one vendor at one of the local clothing stores said she felt something wet dripping on her shirt as she was walking down the street. At first she thought someone poured water over her, but later realized that she had been sprayed with bleach. “This is Bitul Torah, “she said. “Don’t they have anything else to do but look at women and determine whether they are modest or not? I thought we should perhaps organize a demonstration and declare, ‘we are modest and do not want to be burned,’ but obviously this did not materialize.”

The attacks mark an escalation of the religious battle against what they refer to as the ‘promiscuity’ on the haredi streets and the infiltration of ‘fashion’ that often times does not correspond with the strict dress codes in the community. Clothes that may seem modest to most people are considered to be ostentatious if they have shiny or colorful elements to them. Similar claims are made against women who wear overly-tight outfits.

Until recently they focused their battle against the clothing stores: Last week yeshiva students arrived at a women’s clothing store on Amos Street and destroyed thousands of shekels worth of merchandise with bleach. The store was shut down immediately and a men’s clothing store was set up in its place.
Another one was burned down and according to the salesperson, a yeshiva student paid a visit to the store and demanded that she “stop selling immodest clothes” and even warned her that “stores are going to be set on fire tonight.” The following morning she learned that a women’s clothing store on Hagai Street, just two streets from where she worked, was set ablaze.

On the evening the store was set on fire a rally was held at Jerusalem’s Sabbath Square during which Rabbi Yaakov Sofer spoke of the “spiritual deterioration of the Geula neighborhood." The rabbi said “those stores should be closed down – to show the entire world that we are Jews. This is the last place remaining on earth; if it is destroyed, the whole world will be annihilated.”