When an ultra-Orthodox man asked Israeli female soldier Doron Matalon to move to the back of the bus, citing his religious belief of gender separation, she refused.  Matalon’s decision to stay in her seat was not out of disrespect for his religious views, but rather out of the belief in civil rights for women.  Society often pressures us to comply with cultural or religious requests as a sign of “respect”, but moral courage asks us to consider human rights and civil rights above all.  The morally courageous person will think critically about whose rights will be violated in the name of “respect”.

Matalon was harassed when she refused to move, stating that, “I didn’t want to move both on principle and because there wasn’t any room.”  According to her, the man responded by calling her a “whore”.  Other ultra-Orthodox men on the bus joined him, shouting “prostitute” and “Shikse” (a pejorative term for a non-Jewish woman).  Matalon stated, “[I] felt threatened and a huge commotion began.  I yelled out for the conductor to come quick, and two male conductors rushed in.  They pushed him away from me…but he continued to be abusive.”

When recounting the incident, Matalon notes that she has been asked to move to the back of the bus several times before.  In fact, this is not an uncommon request of women in Israel, especially in areas heavily populated by religious groups.  Women’s rights organizations have repeatedly complained about certain bus lines serving ultra-Orthodox areas that enforce gender segregation.  While women have the right to refuse to move under Israeli law, they may face physical and verbal abuse in an attempt to intimidate them to move as was the case with Matalon.

Leaders in Israel are slowly beginning to grapple with this issue, recognizing that there is never a good reason to violate civil rights.  The judge for this case released a statement, which read in part, “In light of this growing phenomenon of women’s exclusion and offending women who object their exclusion, I believe a dangerous cause exists here, because the aggravation of such a phenomenon endangers a democratic society when done forcibly.”  More citizens will need to exhibit Matalon’s moral courage in order to keep the pressure on Israeli leaders and their fellow citizens to stand up for the civil rights of women.