Jewish "modesty patrols' sow fear in community
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JERUSALEM : In Israel's ultra Orthodox Jewish community, where the rule of law sometimes takes a back seat to the rule of God, zealots are on a campaign to stamp out behaviour they consider unchaste. They hurl stones at women for such "sins" as wearing a red blouse, and attack stores selling devices that can access the internet.
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In recent weeks, self-styled "modesty patrols" have been accused of breaking into the apartment of a Jerusalem women and beating her for allegedly consorting with men. They have torched a store that sells MP4 players, fearing devout Jews would use them to download pornography. "These breaches of purity and modesty endanger our community," said 38-year old Elchanan Blau, defending the the bearded, black robed zealots. "If it takes fire to get them to stop, then be it."
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Many ultra-Orthodox Jews are dismayed by the violence, but the enforcers often enjoy quiet approval from rabbis eager to protect their own reputations as guardians of the faith, community members says.
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And while some welcome anything that keeps secular culture out of their cloistered world, others feel terrorised, knowing that the mere perception of impropriety could ruin their lives. "There eyes and ears all over the place, very similar to what you hear about in countries like Iran," says Israeli-American novelist Naomi Ragen, an observant Jew who has chronicled the troubles that confront some women living in the ultra-Orthodox world.
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The violence has already deepened the antagonism between the 600,000 haredim, or God-fearing, and the secular majority, which resents having religious rules dictated to them.
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Now, this is one of many cases, just like Islam, other religion also have people who tend to force their version of the religion onto others, forgeting the main issue of knowledge and truth.
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