Neve Yaakov: Immodest and Modest Women Asked to Sit Separately
According to the religious Zionist weekly Matzav Haruach, the following sign appeared in a playground in the haredi neighborhood of Neve Yaakov in Jerusalem:
Read more on Haredi Women Advised to Sit on a Separate Bench from Immodestly Dressed Women…
Hyper-Tzniut at the Jerusalem Zoo
While the face-covering phenomenon seems to have died down, shalim, capes or cloaks worn over the shoulders to disguise the contour of the body, are still popular. I saw many women in shalim during our visit to the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem, along with the two girls pictured above who looked about 7 and 10 years old.
The trial of Bruria Keren, the face-covering mother of 12 who started a movement encouraging hyper-tzniut (extreme modesty), has been convicted of abusing six of her twelve children.
Keren attracted the attention of the press in December 2007 because she covered her face, wore multiple layers of clothes, refused to speak while men were present, and persuaded other women to do likewise. Shortly after this “movement” became known in the press, she was arrested for severe child abuse.
Here you can find photographs and links to more posts on the subject.
“Autumn” left the following comment on the “Burka Wedding” post, in response to a comment by Ora:
Ora wrote:
“I think there’s a big problem with covering the face. It’s dehumanizing. I don’t know what research, if any, has been done on the subject, but I would think that not seeing a someone’s face would make it easier to beat or otherwise abuse them.”Autumn:
I agree with this, also it allows those with covered face to get away with rude behavior as well. I live in a Gulf Arab Country and a lot of women choose to cover their face with either a niqab (which can also be called a burqa – or ninja style as others like to call it) or a full veil. I have noticed that many (but of course not all) of these women are some of the rudest when it comes to things like waiting politely in line for something, they push in front of others etc. I am guessing that this is because of the anonymity that having their face lends them – they can’t be held accountable as a person for their actions. They can do something rude to someone, and if they seem them the next day, can walk by them without even being recognized and therefore held to account for their actions. Anyway, this is just my observation and these are women who probably did not choose the veil, it just is the norm for their families. So this is a danger to watch out for if it becomes the norm for certain communities – that it creates a detachment of a person from their own actions. Kind of like if one is invisible.I think that people who choose to impose this on themselves (don’t grow up with it as a norm) have a whole other set of problems.
One thing that struck me from the interviews with these women was how one of them talked about how she feels like a princess when she goes out completely covered. This is identical to how converts (or “reverts” as they like to call themselves) to Islam who embrace the niqab or the full face veil speak about how they feel. There is one convert who who talks about how she wishes she could live in Saudi Arabia so she could be completely separated from men, (have separate elevators, etc.) she also refrains from speaking to men. She feels she is more respected by men, etc., and she feels good that her friend’s husband will not try to speak to her because of the way she dresses but will talk to her other friends who only wear the normal hijab (headscarf). This woman will not allow men to comment on her blog because she feels that even communicating with them that way (though they can’t see her or even hear her voice) is wrong. Another interesting thing that I noted about these converts is that most of them have had some traumatic experience or suffered from abuse – often sexual in nature – (which is known to result in a hate of one’s self or one’s own body.) I think there are always some sort of psychological issues when people choose / embrace extreme restrictions to the point of hampering their own ability to function. Not being able to see clearly, or not being able to talk to people including one’s own family, encumbering oneself with too many articles of clothing can all be quite problematic.
By the way I am not Jewish, but I found this article and discussion very interesting and I hope you don’t mind me commenting..
You also might be interested to know that I came across your blog because one of the muslim women’s blogs posted a link to it – not this article but the one about the Jewish soldiers helping the Palestinian smugglers..
Autumn | 01.07.09 – 12:39 pm | #
Autumn, thank you for your thought-provoking comments. I didn’t realize that a Muslim blog had linked here–it didn’t show up in my statistics.
Read more on Thoughts on Face-Covering from Resident of Arab Emirates…
Ynet has news on the trial of the mother of twelve from Beit Shemesh who has been accused of child abuse.
The mentally handicapped son is scheduled to testify. In an unusual move, the judge and lawyers will wear civilian clothing, because the traditional black cloaks normally required by law might remind the son of his mother and scare him.
The article refers to other dramas in the six-month long trial. A month and a half ago, the lawyer of the accused claimed the prison system was condemning her client to death by not providing her with vegan meals. [The early articles written about her discuss her interest in nutrition, and I know a woman who attended a class she gave on the subject.]
According to the article, another child testified using a video hookup, because he feared [chashash] the presence of his parents in the courtroom.
The trial is being held behind closed doors.
Thanks to Rafi for sending me this blurb from 24 Dakot, a local offshoot of Yediot.
The sensationalist headline reads:
Today: The Children against “Mother Taliban”
Four of 12 children of the Beit Shemesh woman nicknamed “Mother Taliban” are expected to testify today at the trial in which she is accused of serial abuse and neglect of her children. The letter of indictment states that for nine years, the parents beat their children and whipped them with belts and cords. They even locked the children out of the house when they did not act according to their wishes. In one case detailed in the indictment, the mother extinguished a match on her son’s chest.
If you are new to this story, start here.
Read more on Update on Keren case: Children to testify today…
I changed the title because it was misleading; someone from the police leaked the transcript.
Below is Part II of Maariv transcript of interrogation with hyper-modest mother of 12, in jail after being indicted for child abuse. Introduction; Part I.
By Shmuel Mittelman and Ami ben David.
I changed the title; the article is a transcript of the interrogation and was leaked to Maariv. The hyper-modest mother of 12 is in jail after being indicted for child abuse. Introduction is here. Part II.
By Shmuel Mittelman and Ami ben David.
Here are the highlights of the Maariv article, containing a leaked transcript of the interrogation with the hyper-modest mother of 12 accused of child abuse.
“I’m careful to hit only after I’m calm”
“The mother from Beit Shemesh denies that her children had sexual relations or that she abused them. Maybe symbolic hits. The transcripts of her investigation expose what is hiding behind the black clothes.”
By Shmuel Mittelman and Ami ben David.
4/5/2008
Read more on Keren interrogation transcript–selected quotes…
The veiled mother of 12 from Beit Shemesh, accused of abusing six of her twelve children, is in the headlines after after agreeing to interviews with reporters. Below is the text of the Ynet (Yediot) account in English There is also an extensive Maariv interview in Hebrew; I translated the first part here.
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