Ariela Marsden, a 9th grader in Beit Shemesh was traveling with girlfriends on a Superbus in the city after school when two chareidim approached her and asked her to please move to the rear of the bus.
According to the 2011 Supreme Court decision, separate gender seating on public buses cannot be enforced, and even more, if harassed as was the case here, the bus driver is compelled by law to come to the assistance of the victim, to explain one cannot compel female passengers to move. The driver did not act in this case.
Ariela filed a lawsuit against the bus company and Justice David Gidoni ordered Superbus to make a compensatory payment to Ariela to the tune of 13,000 NIS.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
why is the bus company responsible?
The bus company is responsible because the law says that the driver,a company employee, must take action. He did not in this case.
why is the bus company responsible?
because teh bus driver told them to move
Because it’s the driver’s responsibility to keep people from harassing other people.
Because that is the law. Separate gender seating on public buses is illegal and if anyone to move against their will, as was the case here, the bus driver is required to explain one cannot compel passengers to move which he did not do in this case. If he had either argued with the haredim and radioed for police assistance, the company would surely have been off the hook.