Ultra-Orthodox Jews rally round parents jailed for defying Israeli court ruling

from an article by Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
The Guardian, Thursday 17 June 2010

The parents of 43 ultra-Orthodox girls were tonight on their way to prison for two weeks today after defying a court order over their children's schooling that has highlighted the division between Israel's religious and secular communities.

More than 100,000 ultra-Orthodox men marched through Jerusalem to show their support. "They are going to jail with joy," said Barry Dubin, 28. "We ultra-Orthodox parents will not cave in to the courts."
The parents are Ashkenazi, originating from Europe, and are in a long-running battle to have their daughters educated separately from Sephardi girls originating from north Africa and the Middle East. The mothers and fathers were being sent to separate jails to serve their sentences.

The reason for wanting separate education, the parents claim, is not racism but a desire to remove their daughters from the influence of those they consider less strict in their religious observance. Watching TV at home, having access to the internet, and a laxer dress code among the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox have been cited.

The ultra-Orthodox school in the illegal West Bank settlement of Immanuel segregated the girls, a move that was subject to a legal challenge resulting in an order to reintegrate. The parents of the 43 girls refused to send them back to mixed classes. Underlying the case is the rejection of what the ultra-Orthodox community's sees as state interference in their religious practice and life.

Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox community has swollen to a third of the Jewish population, assisted by a high birthrate and departure of thousands of secular residents. The secular population is increasingly resentful that its taxes support welfare benefits for the ultra-Orthodox, who reject paid work in favour of religious study.

The political leverage of the ultra-Orthodox has also increased since the election resulted in a coalition dependent on the support of small religious parties. Yitzhak Brudny, a political scientist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, said "The ultra-Orthodox are dirt poor. Among secular Israelis and moderate Orthodox Jews, they are seen basically as parasites. And they have no desire to integrate with other communities."

Yossi Sarid, a former member of the Knesset, wrote in the Ha'aretz newspaper: "The great Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] rebellion has begun … It will destroy basic values, without which a democratic, developed state cannot exist”