In response to the recent turmoil in Beit Shemesh over issues of modesty and the role of women in Israeli society, Yeshiva University students flooded a lecture hall to learn about the challenges and history of the conflict and to debate possible solutions.
The event was organized by Kol Hamevaser, the undergraduate student bodys Jewish thought magazine, and the YU Israel Club. Panelists included Rabbi Jeremy Wieder, Dr. Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin, dean of students and lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School, who has also spoken extensively on womens issues; and Rabbi Yonatan Rosensweig, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Torat Yosef Hamivtar in Efrat and a Beit Shemesh resident.
It was sponsored by the World Zionist Organization, focused on escalating media buzz over the story of Naama Margolese, an 8-year-old Israeli schoolgirl who was spit on by a group of Haredi men who called her dress immodest.
Facilitated by Kol Hamevaser Editor-in-Chief Chesky Kopel, the panel addressed questions about media coverage of the issue, fault lines between Haredi and modern Orthodox communities, and the changing dynamic of gender relations in communities across North America and Israel.
The three speakers spoke about the exclusion of women, and concepts of Haredi extremism in general, including a discussion of sources in the Talmud relating to modesty, the history of womens legal rights and gender roles in Israel, and personal experience with the conflict.
It is in part an attempt to turn back the clock across the religious world, said Wieder. Its a reaction against the excesses of secular society. It may not be acceptable to us, but we need to understand where its coming from.
For Greenberg-Kobrin, the emotional confusion in the modern Orthodox sphere stemmed from a sense of alienation from a community it reveres. When you see violence or bullying towards women and children, you question what shared values you have with a community where that exists, she said. I think that is frightening and difficult for us.
She added: The more we have this question about when and how to include women in our societywhile the halachic lines are extremely important and are to be respectedwhere there is room to be inclusive of men and women and have them interact in a public sphere, we as a community need to speak up and make that happen.
Gabrielle Hiller, a junior majoring in Jewish education at Stern College for Women, agreed. This issue bothered me deeply because these are our people and its disturbing to talk about our own community in this way, she said. However, hearing these different perspectives gave me a deeper understanding of whats going on. Dialogue about this is key.
