Oh, Gris, he's lovely! Welcome to the world, new Buffista sprog!

Whooo hooo! Congrats to your brother and his white devil future wife. That's awesome news, P-C!

Just had to repeat this one. Get some Xanax for your future SIL. She's a-gonna need it! And good on your bro for going with the heart and not kowtowing to familial expectations. GO TEAM BRAVE LOVE.

You made a beautiful boy, Gris!

Congratulations to P-C brother and the white devil.

I'm so sorry, Dana.

I thought of you, Shir, when I read about the controversy over the TV feature on Naama Margolese, who was afraid to walk to her elementary school because ultra-Orthodox men spit on her and insulted her. [link] It and the story about the woman who refused to go to the back of the bus have gotten pretty wide coverage.

It and the story about the woman who refused to go to the back of the bus have gotten pretty wide coverage.

I've been wondering how that was playing out.

GO TEAM BRAVE LOVE.

The Polter-Mom shall either have an epiphany on the benefits of happy sons, or will cling to Polter as her hope for proper wifeage.

Dana, I'm so sorry that you are having to say goodbye to your grandmother. May her transition be peaceful, and may there be comfort for everyone in your family.

Gris, congratulations!

Well done, brother of P-C. Much strength and health to the family that you are building.

One at a time:

Dand, I'm so sorry. Much ~ma. I hope the hospice will be one of the kick-ass hospices, where everyone feels comfortable 100% of the time they can, and the staff is superb, and the family can visit anytime.

Gris! Congrats! Welcome, Calvin!

Congratulations to Brother of P-C as well!

As for controversy and ultra-orthodox and women in Israel: forget it. Seriously. It has nothing, zilch, nada to do with women's rights, feminism, or Hollaback. It's a vicious political spin which portrays *every* ultra-orthodox as an evil threat to the existing of Israel, on the backs of "The Women". Because you know, who will protect those poor women, when the country doesn't do anything for them?

Don't get me wrong: there are attacks on women. Some of them are by ultra-orthodox. But that stuff been happening for years now. Sex-segregated bus lines? Almost 20 years now. The story of the religious girls school that isn't modest enough for the ultra-orthodox lunatics that live in the building next to it? At least 3-4 years. The fact that only in the past week 90% of the media in Israel finds a new story where a Evil Ultra-Orthodox was being wrong towards An Innocent Girl/Woman on a daily basis? Oh, hey, you've changed, Mr. Media. And not for the better.

And 80% of the coverage, again, has nothing to do with discussing women's right or autonomy. They're all "Ultra-Orthodox are dangerous to the society. If they didn't exist, all women in Israel wouldn't have a single problem". It's revolting. It's playing women's rights as a political card, and not treating women as human beings. Only when it comes to Arabs or Ultra-Orthodox, apparently, some people here remembered that there is legislation against these sort of things. I'm still waiting for women writers to get back and writing on Haaretz political commentaries (one of the so-called liberal newspapers in Israel), which didn't happen for months now. But I guess it's so much easier to see discrimination when it's "the others", and not the enlightened-to-only-themselves liberals.

(Yes, I have a lot of rage and a lot to say about it).

(Our guess is that Shinui #2 is raising as a political party. The same anti-religious party which disappeared and left 1/4 of the Knesset with religious and ultra-orthodox members, as a backlash to the stuff it did).

What has two thumbs and a brother who just got engaged?

He's a rebel! For love!

How interesting, Shir! In America it's definitely being played as a civil rights thing, with the woman on the bus being called the next Rosa Parks (a black woman in the 60s who was tired after a day's work who decided one day to say no to being told to go to the back of the bus, Google will tell you much more than can be put in a post). Hubby and I were talking about it the other day, and I'll tell him that this is nothing new is Israel, but a new spin. I seemed to recall that there were concerns in some circles about the ultra orthodox's influence.

Oh, I know about Rosa Parks. And yes, the idiots in Israel are trying really hard to find new "Rosa Parks" everyday. And when they can't, they invent them - sending secular females reporters to get on these buses. Most times, nobody cares where they sit. Not to mention they're really not Rosa Parks - those young secular women don't live in the ultra-orthodox community. They won't have to deal with what ultra-orthodox women will have to deal with if they'll choose to sit in front (and some of them are brave enough to do so).

And yes, there is a concern about ultra-orthodox, because there are more than them now and Israel does need to rethinks their place in society (most of them don't pay taxes and don't serve in IDF, if I'll borrow republican discourse for a minute). But trying to spin it on women's backs, when misogyny and chauvinism are in the non-ultra-orthodox community as well (and of course - most of the ultra-orthodox community isn't lunatic) - that's bullshit. That's using women's rights as a political card, while doing nothing to promote it.