Separation of the sexes isn’t just for weddings and sidewalks anymore. The latest call for separation of the sexes comes from the playground as Ultra Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, NY have become frightened at the thought that their children are playing with members of the opposite sex. Many studies have shown that children learn from an early age what is right and what is wrong, and parents fear that mixed playgrounds may give children the impression that playing with and talking to the opposite sex is kosher.
In an effort to stem this perversion of their childrens’ minds, a local group of mothers, calling themselves Mothers for Kosher Playgrounds, has demanded that the city post separate hours for girls and boys in their local playgrounds. Since no other groups use the facilities besides these Ultra Orthodox Jews, they don’t see the problem.
The ACLU has already announced that they will file a discrimination lawsuit because, they claim the group is a clear violation of church and state clauses, by using religious practice as a means for making new playground hours.
Mothers for Kosher Playgrounds has already submitted backup proposals if the city refuses to enforce separate hours for the sexes. These proposals include seperate playgrounds devoted to specifically to girls or boys with the girl’s playgrounds featuring kitchens and the boy’s playgrounds featuring shtenders and bimahs to sit at.
The last paragraph made me LOL!!!
is the 1st half of this true?
Please, tell me you’re kidding.
No, not Mothers for Kosher Playgrounds … Heimishe Mothers of Klal Yisroel for Kosher Playgrounds is the name.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i3ULRnBikyjztV35v-2JF3ncgdaQ
Headscarves off in Tehran’s first female-only park
(AFP) – Jun 17, 2008
TEHRAN (AFP) — Nasrin and Kimia cast aside their Islamic headscarves and quickly unbutton their coats as soon as they pass a gate watched by male guards — the entrance to Tehran’s first women-only park.
The mother and daughter lay out their picnic on the lawn and lie in the hot spring sun as a group of other women jog past them in spaghetti-strapped vests and lycra shorts.
An unusual sight indeed in Iran, where all women are obliged to cover their hair and body contours in public to obey the country’s strict Islamic dress code.
But last month the Tehran municipality opened the “Mothers’ Paradise” park in the upmarket north of the city to create a male-free zone every day of the week except Friday.
Built on hills and filled with lush evergreens, it was deemed an ideal spot for any park. It is now surrounded by iron sheets up to four metres (13 feet) high to keep out prying eyes.
“It is a good place to take in fresh air and finally dress as you want,” said 39-year-old Nasrin who lives nearby and comes to the park almost every day. “In an Islamic country this is as good as it gets.”
In Islamic societies, women wear headscarves with the avowed aim of preventing men from being sexually aroused by seeing their hair and curves in public and thus protecting their virtue.
But even in Iran, where the hijab is obligatory in public, the Islamic dress rules do not apply for women in places where it is forbidden for men to enter.
“Taking into account the religious beliefs in our society, we have to wisely use all our capacities to care for the wellbeing of women,” said Tehran’s conservative mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf last month while inaugurating the park.
The 20-hectare (50-acre) park offers aerobics classes in the open air (something of a craze for both sexes in Iran), a cycling track, a sports hall for team games and even archery courses.
Nahid Foadi, 50, has arrived with friends swinging badminton rackets and gym bags.
“We need vitamin D and all these years our health has been neglected. They have to build more such parks everywhere,” she said.
Some women said they felt safer in the park, which is run by an all-women staff of cleaners, gardeners and security guards, complaining about harassment and drug dealers in other parks.
The park is looked after by male staff outside its confines and after 8:00 pm, which is the closing time, regarded as too early by many women.
“It’s an insult to close so early when many just want to enjoy a walk and exercise after work,” said Farideh Nabavi, a 45-year-old businesswoman, who has nevertheless urged all her friends by text message to discover the park.
Unlike other women-only venues, such as swimming pools, sports clubs and concert halls, visitors are not required to hand in cell phones and cameras.
Iran’s police have been battling the distribution of compromising footage of women shot secretly in such places on cell phones and posted on the Internet or sold on video CDs throughout Iran.
“We think it is better to trust women and that they would avoid taking pictures for their own good,” said a security guard who asked not to be named.
But she added that they were careful to prevent anyone violating the unwritten rule.
Plans to build women’s parks in the capital go back almost a decade to Tehran’s first city council, which was run by reformists, and they have been established in several other cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad.
A rival and critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Qalibaf succeeded him as Tehran mayor after the 2005 presidential elections and is seen as a more pragmatic figure. The hostility between the pair is an open secret in Iran.
Since his appointment, the former police chief has wasted little time in launching long-overdue projects including the restoration of Tehran’s landmark Azadi cinema, burned down 15 years ago, into a chic steel and glass multiplex.
“I think Qalibaf decided to go ahead with the park to endear himself to women and get votes” ahead of 2009 presidential elections, Nasrin said. The mayor plans least three other women’s parks in the capital within a few months.
Despite its instant popularity, the park has met with some disapproval, with critics arguing that segregation would not be the right answer to social problems including harassment in public places.
“Men need to be educated to act like responsible citizens and respect women,” said Sogol Zand, a post-graduate student on gender studies.
The 38-year-old single woman also objected to the park’s name — Mothers’ Paradise — which “could mean you have no identity as a woman except as a mother.”
Critics are also concerned about further male-female segregation in the Islamic republic, which frowns on the mingling of unrelated men and women.
Women ride in the back of public buses in Iran. University canteens, corridors and some classes are also segregated.
The strict rules however do not stop young men and women from hanging out in coffeeshops and restaurants, or strolling and holding hands in parks.
“There are 1,500 parks in Tehran and hundreds of gyms only for men. It is an undeniable necessity to create a few parks for women who form 50 percent of the population,” Qalibaf said.
In unrelated news, taking helicopter tours has recently become extremely popular among men in Iran. For a small additional fee, binocular rentals are available at the heliport.
You’re more right than you know, chevramaidel. ;^D
As part of the civic planning process, one of these Iranian parks (there are quite a few now) DID in fact commission a light aircraft to do a flyover, in order to ascertain how identifiable women denuded of their hijab could be to an enterprising aviator.
http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1117504.html
Relevant paragraph:
“According to the studies that we have carried out, even from an aircraft flying over the park, women will not be seen because of the special arrangement of plant and trees,” said Sedigheh Ghannadi, the head of the National Council of Women. “We have chosen trees that have greater covering and they will be planted in four rows and form a green wall.”
Purely out of curiosity, are you Muslim?
Nope! I’m personally agnostic. But I was born in Iran to an American mother (Christian) & Iranian father (Muslim), so I have dual citizenship.
Just to clarify I have no problem if you were, I was just curious about a non-Jew reading this site. What’s up with that?
There are a few Non-Jews reading this site actually. As for me, I wanted to meet Jewish people but there aren’t any Jews where I live.
Jews are good people and well worth going out of my way to make friends. 🙂
Kimberly, I totally feel you. There are seriously no frum Jews around here. Except the local Chabad house.
I’ve considered showing up there and seeing if I could wrangle a Shabbos dinner invite, but I don’t know how I would explain myself or how well that would go over.
mahla, chabad wud accept you with open arms!
I have a strong interest in comparative religions. Observant and ultra-Orthodox Judaism aren’t my only interests in this regard, just the most recent. Googling enough unfamiliar terms eventually landed me here; I’ve been reading for a few weeks now and this blog is AWESOME.
Please don’t be afraid I’m getting every scrap of “factual” information on Jewish Orthodoxy from Frum Satire though. ;^D
I’m also reading hashkafah.com, some serious frum blogs, all of Jonathan Kirsch’s books, and a book called Defenders of the Faith: Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewry.
Oh … and calmkallahs, of course. ;^)
That’s cool but just remember, as asinine as some comments on this blog (and others )are, most of them don’t represent Judaism at all. Just a little protip before you encounter some of the more retarded folks of the orthodox world. 😉
You’re from Iran? That’s so cool! I’m part Armenian, and after the genocide Iran took in refugees and treated them very well.
I’m also a non-Jew interested in Judaism, and I’m born to Christian parents, used to be agnostic, but then went back to Christianity. I have a lot of Muslims friends from coming from the Middle East, but only one really good Jewish friend (an Israeli immigrant). She’s very nice, taught me a few Hebrew words, and is probably the largest critic of Israel–which I find is so ironic and one of the things I love about her. Because of the irony and sunny disposition.
I’m a non-jew too! 🙂 I’ve worked in the Jewish community for about 5 years though, and take a keen interest in other religions than mine (Christianity), so I guess I know quite a bit about the Jewish faith (compared to most other Christians, at least). Heshy is quite hilarious and I love reading his blog from time to time!
Stop giving the Israeli haredim ideas. Today’s satire is tomorrow’s reason to beat up a Modern Orthodox woman in Jerusalem.
I sincerely wish this was a joke. These chassidim thunk that because they live in a bubble in Boro Park that they can make whatever demads they want of the gov’t and expect to get it.
First off, start paying taxes, and stop lying about how much money you make, and how many kids you have. Until you all start paying some taxe, they don’t even deserve a single thing from the gov’t.
Secondly, when will they ever realize the massive Chilul Hashem they cause by their everyday behavior in Boro Park (and Williamsburg etc). They aren’t the only ones around! Plenty of non Jews exist in those areas too, and they are probably even more disgusted then I am with the way Chassidim act (and I’m plenty disgusted).
These Chassidim need to be reminded of the core values of Judaism, and to start prioritizing what is important, like making a Kiddush Hashem and showing proper Midos to the world. Maybe after they learn to this, start giving a crap about stupid playgrounds and god forbid their children seeing each other.
You said it!!!! The ultra-religious Jews are about the MOST UN-Jewish of all of us. They totally don’t ‘get’ the core values and Jews wouldn’t exist at all if, historically, we lived in their fantasy world.
totally agree with you Akiva, this kind of story further tarnishes the beauty of being a religious Jew, they need to focus on some real issues facing the Jewish community, like Kiruv or Israel
despite the dire predictions, this *is* just a joke so far.
Here in Israel, this is not a joke, but true. Here, this has been happening in Charedi neighbourhoods for a long time already. It’s horrifying.
If you put this up on VIN or Ynet almost everyone would say it was a good idea. This will be a news story in three or four years.
VIN is like the Weekly World News except there’s dybbuks instead of Bat Boy.
The playground includes a thumb dig sandbox, a tie the gartel swing and a sound proof area so that the boys will not hear whine eesha. The playground will also include separate (boys and girls)no derech eretz monkey bars. Your goal is to cut the other kid in line. The eighth section of the playground has a waiting list.
I remember the days when all the commenters hear were as lighthearted and funny as you – thank you for that.
Thanks it means a lot to me.
Akiva, I totally agree. Honestly, I am aghast by the (contemporary) behavior of these hyper-religious sects. I saw a you tube video that showed three teenage ultra-Orthodox boys throwing wine in the face of an elderly Palestinian woman who was simple walking by, minding her own business. These people are not my people. The thing of it is that their behavior, rules, and fanaticism are so completely UN-Jewish. I don’t see much difference between these crazy sects and the cults in the mid-West that completely control women and children and are known for their child abuse.
Our (the Jewish people) greatest strength is our ability to remain open and pluralistic, yet united as a people. They are breaking us to bits and claiming to have the market cornered (not to mention that they have FAR too much political power in Israel) on what is “really” Jewish. Since when do we need a pope?
As far as I can tell, not a single bit of good has ever come out of religious fanaticism.
Bikur cholim, Tomchei Shabbos, Hatzolah, Chabad getting the Russians and Iranians out of hell, Chaverim, the list of groups started by religious fanatics is endless, to help fellow religious fanatics and other Jews.
What does any of that have to to with religious fanaticism? They were not founded because of someones fanaticism.
Actually, they were. It’s amazing how the same religion can lead some of it’s fanatics to violent zealotry and others to great and selfless work with equal zealotry.
hesh: don’t forget satmar and the yemenites, even if i don’t eat hisachdis.
hesh: don’t forget satmar and the yemenites, even if i don’t eat hisachdis.
kidnapping isn’t funny. :I
That would prevent any outbreaks of the cooties for sure. LOL
dude you should start specifying if stuff like this is real or not. like at the end, so as not ruin the humor. u wouldnt want people to get teh wrong idea
I can’t help the dummies
Whenever I see police barriers being used to enforce religious restrictions, such as at the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah in Crown Heights, I wonder how the community can get away with this use of publicly funded property. Perhaps the police consider it a legitimate public safety issue – otherwise they might have to call in the FDNY to turn fire hoses on the overly stimulated men.
You’re too late Heshy, the Haredim have already segregated children (although not by gender)
http://www.haaretz.com/haaretz-authors-edition/the-colors-of-racism-1.293669
And it would be so easy to get around this. If you don’t want the Ashkenazi to violate their purity by associating with Sephardim just make the little Sephardic girls easy to identify and tell the Ashkenazi kids to recognize the signs and stay away.
Yellow stars sewn to the clothing should do the trick.
If you’re going to do something, do it right. The playground is waaaay too late to separate the genders. I say start when they’re born with separate birthing centers – parents will need to find out the sex of the baby and go to the appropriate place to give birth.
Mahla and Kimberly, where the hell are you?? I live in NC and there are THREE Orthodox shuls within a thirty mile radius. It hasn’t always been like this. Growing up here in the 60’s and 70’s was not entirely pleasant. But I can say one thing for Southern Jews, we stick together, we are respectful of each other’s differences and enjoy doing things as a community. Down here, every Jew counts. Heck, our kids even went to Orthodox preschool/summer camp where the people were always warm and friendly (as opposed to our reform temple where there are plenty of snobs and barely any Jews!) Philosophically, I suppose I’m a Jewish Humanist but culturally I’m just a good ‘ole Southern Jew like everybody else.
Shalom, y’all.
I’m in Eugene Oregon and have lived here for SIX YEARS without seeing a single guy wearing a kippah.
aidel, u just left me feeling all warm and fuzzy. Kind of what LA used to be like before yeshivish people took it over. Though they still are all nice there.
We must figure out way to seperate babies in the womb when they are twins and one is boy and one is girl baby.