Get off the Bus

A friend of mine read that a woman had been beaten on an Israeli bus. This friend thought to himself, "What have those wacky Muslims done now?" Then he discovered the woman in question was beaten by Jewish men. Such news surprised me, too.

I thought only Italian men hit women.

Oh, and Irish men.

And let's not forget the Russians.

But I digress.

Seems a 50 year-old religious American-Israeli didn't appreciate being told to sit in back of the bus. When she refused, a scuffle ensued with several Orthodox men beating her about the chest, face, and back.

I know. What would Moses do?

Some believe she should have observed the culture of her host country. Rubbish. Whether we're discussing the American south during the 1960s or Israel today, a cultural norm shouldn't be followed if its morally wrong. And whether we're discussing fundamentalist Christians, Muslims or Jews - they are often fundamentally wrong.

Miriam Shear might be the Israeli Rosa Parks. Believe it.