I'm fairly intimate with the situation over there and these people will not and have never historically listened to reason from outside of their communities. Their communities live in open...
I'm fairly intimate with the situation over there and these people will not and have never historically listened to reason from outside of their communities. Their communities live in open defiance to the state they live in, regarding any outside influence as heretical. They don't work (or pay taxes), they don't serve in the military, but they feel very strongly about their role in the society. In their eyes, their praying for us is the thing that saves us from out enemies and the wrath of god. In their eyes, the holocaust was God's answer to the growing secularization and assimilation of European jewry. When Intel wanted to open a plant in Jerusalem that would also operate on Saturdays, they blocked the entire city with massive violent demonstrations. When the government wanted to draft them (a move that has popular +70% support in the public) - same thing. When "immodest" women walk in "their" streets or on "their" buses, they would resort to verbal and physical violence to chase them out.
My initial feeling was - let them die. But when I thought of it a bit more I realize that having them contract the disease will very easily overwhelm hospitals and leak out of their isolated communities. As insular as they are, Israel is a very densely populated country and you are never truly isolated.
Closing ritual baths, for instance, would mean couples are forbidden from being intimate or even touching and sleeping together.
I am not worried about it, this is an excuse crafted for western eyes. What this doesn't say is the reason - women who had their period are considered "impure" and need to purify in the mikveh (ritual bath) before being allowed to touch men again. Moreover - In the Ger Hassidic community (they are the ones with the big fur hats), for instance, there are very strict regulations about the interaction between man and wife. A man cannot stand next to, nor converse with his wife in public, they can't even call each other by name. They cannot touch each other, pass objects to one another, or create any sort of physical intimacy apart from procreation. To the point here - they are only allowed to have sex twice a month and need to be very brief with it (enjoying it is considered sinful). So as you can see, they have no problems putting limitations on themselves in the name of God. They are welcome to keep it up (or not) when the mikves close. And by the way, they don't necessarily have to purify in a mikve - any large body of water would suffice (such as the Mediterranean).
EDIT: Spoke to a friend who lives nearby. Due to the uncooperative public, as of this morning the police has blockaded all of these neighborhoods.
I'm fairly intimate with the situation over there and these people will not and have never historically listened to reason from outside of their communities. Their communities live in open defiance to the state they live in, regarding any outside influence as heretical. They don't work (or pay taxes), they don't serve in the military, but they feel very strongly about their role in the society. In their eyes, their praying for us is the thing that saves us from out enemies and the wrath of god. In their eyes, the holocaust was God's answer to the growing secularization and assimilation of European jewry. When Intel wanted to open a plant in Jerusalem that would also operate on Saturdays, they blocked the entire city with massive violent demonstrations. When the government wanted to draft them (a move that has popular +70% support in the public) - same thing. When "immodest" women walk in "their" streets or on "their" buses, they would resort to verbal and physical violence to chase them out.
My initial feeling was - let them die. But when I thought of it a bit more I realize that having them contract the disease will very easily overwhelm hospitals and leak out of their isolated communities. As insular as they are, Israel is a very densely populated country and you are never truly isolated.
I am not worried about it, this is an excuse crafted for western eyes. What this doesn't say is the reason - women who had their period are considered "impure" and need to purify in the mikveh (ritual bath) before being allowed to touch men again. Moreover - In the Ger Hassidic community (they are the ones with the big fur hats), for instance, there are very strict regulations about the interaction between man and wife. A man cannot stand next to, nor converse with his wife in public, they can't even call each other by name. They cannot touch each other, pass objects to one another, or create any sort of physical intimacy apart from procreation. To the point here - they are only allowed to have sex twice a month and need to be very brief with it (enjoying it is considered sinful). So as you can see, they have no problems putting limitations on themselves in the name of God. They are welcome to keep it up (or not) when the mikves close. And by the way, they don't necessarily have to purify in a mikve - any large body of water would suffice (such as the Mediterranean).
EDIT: Spoke to a friend who lives nearby. Due to the uncooperative public, as of this morning the police has blockaded all of these neighborhoods.