A 10-year-old ultra-Orthodox girl was apparently attacked by a secular passenger on a bus in Jerusalem on Monday, according to a report by Army Radio.
After 8-year-old Na'ama Margolese, a modern Orthodox girl who immigrated to Israel with her American parents, was accosted by ultra-Orthodox men on her way to school last month, Bluma Spitzer -- also on her way to school -- was reportedly spat on, cursed and physically attacked by a young man.
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The young man reportedly got on the bus, shouted "the cursed ultra-Orthodox," and threatened Bluma. He also allegedly warned her not to ride on the bus again. Shimon Moses, a Jerusalem-based businessman and friend of the Spitzer family, said, "When the bus arrived at her stop, she started to get off and the man kicked her in the back, causing her to stumble out of the bus. Secular people on the bus yelled at her to 'get off the bus, it's ours.'"
Moses was shocked by the incident, but the Spitzer family refused to speak with the media, designating Moses as their spokesman. Moses believes the incident, as well as many others like it in recent weeks, was the result of "unrestrained incitement against the ultra-Orthodox."
The Spitzer family hopes the police will deal with their daughter's attacker the same way they dealt with the ultra-Orthodox men who accosted Na'ama Margolese.
Meanwhile, 44-year-old Shlomo Fuchs -- who was indicted on charges of sexually harassing a female soldier, calling her a whore -- believes the indictment against him was the result of widespread anti-Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) sentiment in Israeli society. Fuchs spoke with reporters on Monday for the first time since he was accused of the crime, saying, "I saw a girl's head among all the men. I said to her, why are you butting in, whore? What are you doing among all the Torah students? The place of women on the bus is at the back. I didn't do anything bad to her. It's legitimate that women not mix with the men. It's not modest. It's defilement."
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