Orthodox Judaism

Saudi Arabia may be the only country where women aren’t allowed to drive, but it’s not the only place where woman are forbidden from getting behind the wheel. It even happens in some communities in the US.

A leading Israeli rabbi at a protest this week warned Israel’s leaders that ultra-Orthodox boys will do anything to be able to continue studying Torah, instead of joining the army — a requirement for all Israeli citizens. Throw us in jail, he said; we’ll all go.

Beyond the sea of black and white clothing is a community that transformed from sidelined minority to a political force. Sephardi Jews make up roughly half of Israel’s population, but the community was long impoverished and faced discrimination by Ashkenazi Jews descended from European countries. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef changed much of that.

There’s a perceptible tension between mainstream Israeli society and its growing ultra-Orthodox minority. It’s on display at a shopping mall in Ramot, a community that’s become more ultra-Orthodox. Ultra-Orthdox rabbis have called for a mall boycott, hurting sales.

Israel’s Haredim community is grappling with mainstream Israeli society in an effort to figure out how the two increasingly divergent lifestyles can co-exist in the same country.