Ultra-Orthodox women’s party comes under fire

Not that tolerant: Rabbi and attorney Dov Halbertal tells Ruth Colian, one of the three founders of the ultra-Orthodox women’s party Bizchutan, that she “should be careful, because those who will be ostracized are not Haredi women, you will be ostracized because Haredi society will cast you out, Haredi society will not accept your sons, matchmakers won’t help them.”

Halbertal is responding to Colian’s explanation on why she established the party: to have a political solution for women who are refused a divorce, or single mothers. “We care about these women because in Haredi society they are the most downtrodden,” Colian says on Galei Yisrael Radio.

Halbertal, an ultra-Orthodox attorney from a stream known for its severity, tells Colian that “on a personal level I say to you – think twice about what you are doing to your family and to yourself.”