Do Haredi women like their lives??
Minneapolis Star Tribune
March 5, 1998
Growing conflict in Jerusalem pits Jew against Jew
Amit Gilboa and Laurie M. Grossman
offtherails.com
Excerpt:
Disturbing for many is the enforcement of dress codes for women. A woman walking through exclusively haredi neighborhoods in immodest dress will be subjected to discomfiting stares; men will cover their faces or abruptly turn away. Such incidents are rare, because the haredi neighborhoods are well known and easy to avoid and because Jerusalemites tend to dress conservatively anyway.
Irvin Schermer's wife, Barbara, who has lived here 29 years, was in for a shock when her favorite supermarket switched to haredi management two years ago. "I went shopping wearing pants, and the security guard came up with a dirty old rag that was supposed to be a skirt. He said I should tie it around me. I gave back my cart and never went back. I said, 'Take your skirt; goodbye!' I hope they lose money."
Haredi Minnesotans who live in Jerusalem agree that Barbara Schermer's experience is outrageous, but they do support some standards. "In North High School we had a dress code," says Rivka Tal, who grew up in north Minneapolis as Patti Schochet. "If people work in a place with a big population of religious people, it's perfectly legitimate for the workers to have a dress code."
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