Submitted by Peter Markus:
Walk this way! Yiddish sign orders women to move over
by Aaron Short
The Brooklyn Paper
October 7, 2011
Why did the Orthodox Jewish woman cross the road? Because a Yiddish sign ordered her.
A bold new religious decree was bolted to street trees this week that orders women to move to the side when a man is walking towards her on the sidewalk.
The red, yellow and white plastic sign, first noted in the Jewish watchdog blog Failed Messiah, is roughly translated, “Precious Jewish daughters, please move over to the side when you see a man come across.”
Orthodox activists said the signs should not be taken seriously.
“There are some hard-core Hasidim in Williamsburg who think they still live in 19th-century Ukraine and they consider interaction between the sexes, in even the most casual, accidental manner to be licentious,” said bike shop owner Baruch Herzfeld. “They are enormous pains in the tuchis, and most people try to avoid conflict, so they often get their way.”
But Hasidic residents say that the sign is being misinterpreted. Continue reading “Hasidic Women in Brooklyn: Walk Right!”