Woman sprays tear gas at Orthodox man in bus segregation fracas

Woman sprays tear gas at

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
A woman who boarded a bus designated for religious passengers sprayed tear gas at an Orthodox man who demanded she move to the rear section last week in Ashdod. The incident began on Friday, when an 18-year-old Orthodox man noticed the woman, 60, sitting at the front of the bus on a route on which men and women are segregated for purposes of religious modesty. The man objected to the woman's seating location, and asked her to move to the back, police said, but she refused to budge. The exchange quickly escalated into a confrontation, police said. After being cursed at repeatedly, the woman told him to "shut up," adding, "What do you care where I sit? So what if this is a religious bus? Nothing will happen if I sit at the front," according to her police interrogation transcript. The woman then sprayed tear gas "to scare the youth who was yelling at me," she told officers. The bus driver stopped the vehicle, and opened the doors to air out the bus, while the young religious man called the police. The woman was detained for questioning and released on bail. She is suspected of assault.