Hundreds of Israeli Women Demonstrate against Discrimination in Public Transports

Hundreds of Israeli women demonstrated on Thursday, in Bnei Brak, the eastern suburb of Tel Aviv. (Reuters)
Hundreds of Israeli women demonstrated on Thursday, in Bnei Brak, the eastern suburb of Tel Aviv. (Reuters)
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Hundreds of Israeli Women Demonstrate against Discrimination in Public Transports

Hundreds of Israeli women demonstrated on Thursday, in Bnei Brak, the eastern suburb of Tel Aviv. (Reuters)
Hundreds of Israeli women demonstrated on Thursday, in Bnei Brak, the eastern suburb of Tel Aviv. (Reuters)

Hundreds of Israeli women demonstrated on Thursday, in Bnei Brak, the eastern suburb of Tel Aviv - which is inhabited by ultra-Orthodox Jews - to protest against what they consider gender discrimination against them, especially in public transportation, where such incidents have recently increased.

The women responded to the call to demonstrate in Bnei Brak, after media outlets published reports that several bus drivers in this ultra-religious suburb had, in recent weeks, forced women to sit in the back seats, or even prevented women from boarding their buses.

These incidents angered the residents, who took to the streets in protest. The demonstrators chanted slogans, including: “No democracy without equality,” while many waved Israeli flags and carried banners that read: “We are equal.”

“We can sit wherever we want, and we can wear whatever we want,” said a protester.

Since the end of the 1980s, Israel has been witnessing gender segregation on bus lines, in which the ultra-Orthodox make up the majority of passengers. The most radical among the religious Jews adopt a strict segregation of the sexes. Activists assert that discrimination against women has increased in this society.

“Just because some religious groups and extremist groups believe that women are the source of all evil, it does not mean that we have to accept it... I want my 10-year-old daughter to grow up in a world where she has all the opportunities,” a lawyer said ahead of the rally.



Biden after Trump’s Election Win: Setbacks Are Unavoidable

US President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 7, 2024, after Donald Trump won the presidential election. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 7, 2024, after Donald Trump won the presidential election. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
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Biden after Trump’s Election Win: Setbacks Are Unavoidable

US President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 7, 2024, after Donald Trump won the presidential election. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 7, 2024, after Donald Trump won the presidential election. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Seeking to console fellow Democrats, US President Joe Biden delivered remarks to the nation Thursday in what was his first appearance on camera following Republican Donald Trump’s decisive victory.

"Setbacks are unavoidable. Giving up is unforgiveable," Biden said at the White House Rose Garden as he addressed staff who were disappointed in Vice President Kamala Harris' defeat. "A defeat does not mean we are defeated."

Biden said Tuesday's election had proven the integrity of the US electoral system and said he would preside over an orderly transfer of power.

"We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up," he said.

The president reiterated that the US election system “is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent. And it can be trusted, win or lose.”

“America endures,” he said. “We’re going to be ok, but we need to stay engaged.”

Some Democrats have blamed Biden, 81, for Harris' defeat, saying he should not have sought reelection. Biden only dropped his reelection bid in July after a disastrous TV debate with Trump raised alarm bells about his mental fitness.
Trump's campaign said Biden had invited him to meet at the White House at an unspecified time. In the weeks ahead, Trump will select personnel to serve under his leadership.