Haredim launch war on 'Taliban women'

Ultra orthodox woman in Mea Shearim in Jerusalem Sept 24 2010



Ads posted in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh threaten to reveal identity of women wearing cloaks for modesty reasons

An internal haredi battle is taking place these days against "Taliban women", a radical sect of women wearing cloaks and observing strict modesty rules.

Ads posted in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh are announcing the establishment of a special committee against the sect's members. "Help help, Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh are crying out," says the poster, referring to the "Taliban women" as "a new sect of cruel women making people miserable and destroying homes, risking lives and showing no mercy to little children."

The ads claim that the sect members torture their children for education purposes. At least in one case, of a Beit Shemesh woman nicknamed "Taliban mom" who was convicted of abusing her children, such claims have been proven true.

The committee members are threatening to impose sanctions on the sect's women: "The people of Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh – we shall not abandon our brothers. We will boycott the women leading this rebellious sect and publish their names and addresses."

They are even accusing the women of "calling for a revolt by offering impure and forbidden advice and leading a group under the disguise of 'extra holiness.'"

The radical sect emerged about five years ago, and is said to include some 300 women in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, many of them newly religious.

The ads include a telephone and fax number for any information about these women. They are signed by the "committee against the cruel women's sect."