Women told to keep to one side of the street in London Haredi district


September 21, 2014
Sarah Benton


An unnamed group of Haredi Jews in Stamford Jill, North London, pasted up many posters round the neighbourhood instructing women to walk on one side of the road only.

Stamford Hill posters telling women what side of the road to walk on are removed

By Shekha Vyas, Hackney Gazette
September 19, 2014

Hackney Council have removed posters in Stamford Hill telling women what side of the road they should walk on after a backlash from residents.

The notices were taken down after multiple complaints to the council about the posters which read “women should please walk along this side of the road only” in English and Yiddish [in Hebrew lettering].

Jewish group Shomrim who support policing in the borough said the posters had been put up by an orthodox Jewish group for a religious parade this week.

Chaim Hochhauser of Stamford Hill Shomrim said: “Shomrim didn’t know much about these posters until it was brought to our attention later on, however, the logo on the side (in Hebrew) is from a Torah Parade which took place, and the request was intended for the people from the Orthodox Jewish community that were attending the street event.

“Traditionally at these Torah Parades in the Orthodox Jewish community which is usually attended by a large number of people, men and women are in separate groups, as people dance and make physical contact with fellow dancers, which is avoided between the opposite gender in Orthodox Judaism.”

He continued: “Shomrim have since contacted the event organisers, and explained that these posters lacked explanation in the English text, and therefore could have offended people who don’t understand the Hebrew wording and the logo.”

Stamford Hill is home to more than 20,000 Haredi Jews – the third largest group in the world.

Hackney Council spokesperson said: “As soon as the signs were brought to the Council’s attention they were removed.”


Stamford Hill council removes ‘unacceptable’ posters telling women which side of the road to walk down

Hackney Council removed posters put up during Torah Parade

By Heather Saul, The Independent
September 20, 2014

A London council has removed “unacceptable” posters instructing women which side of the road they should walk down.

The signs, which have “Women should please walk along this side of the road only” written in both Hebrew and English, were spotted along Stamford Hill in Hackney.

The Shomrim group, whose Jewish volunteers support policing in the area, said they were put up by an orthodox Jewish group during the Torah Procession earlier this week, in order to prevent men and women from the religious sect who are not married or related from touching.

Chaim Hochhauser, from the Stamford Hill Shomrim group, said it had contacted the organisers to inform them the posters “lacked explanation”.

He told the Hackney Gazette the request was intended for people from the the Orthodox Jewish community who were attending the street event.

Mr Hochhauser said: “Shomrim have since contacted the event organisers, and explained that these posters lacked explanation in the English text, and therefore could have offended people who don’t understand the Hebrew wording and the logo.”

Stamford Hill is home to over 20,000 Haredi Jews, the third largest group.

Rosemary Sales, a councillor for Stamford Hill West, described the posters as “unacceptable” and said they had been taken down.

“Several residents in my ward in Stamford Hill have drawn these posters to my attention,” she told the Evening Standard.

“It is of course quite unacceptable to try to restrict women’s movements in a public place and council officers removed these posters as soon as it was reported to them.”

Hackney Police Superintendent Andy Walker said he had spoken to the organisers about the “potential misinterpretation” of the signs.

A spokesperson for Hackney Council told The Independent the posters were removed after they were raised by the ward councillor.

Note

Torah parade

A Torah parade is usually organised when a new, handwritten, copy of the Torah is finished and presented to the community. The separation of men and women is to do with the ultra-orthodox Haredi, not the completion of the Torah.

 

© Copyright JFJFP 2024