Angry protests by ultra-orthodox Jews in the Israeli town Beit Shemesh are the latest episode in a history of contentious relations between Israel’s secular majority and the small, but powerful ultra-orthodox minority. Groups of ultra-orthodox men have been picketing a new girls’ school, harassing the girls and their mothers by allegedly throwing stones, tomatoes, and feces. The men claim they are offended by what they say is the “immodesty” of elementary school-aged girls. Kevin Connolly of the BBC filed a report from Beit Shemesh.
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