Israeli 'Rosa Parks' causes storm by refusing to go to the back of the bus
The simmering conflict between religious and secular Israelis threatened to overspill after Tanya Rosenblit stayed in her seat on a bus when Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men demanded that she move to the back. - Tanya Rosenblit is a 28 year old TV producer, the daughter of Russian immigrants who lives in the coastal town of Ashdod. Last month, she caught a bus to Jerusalem where she had a medical appointment. She made an effort to dress modestly, as her doctor was in an ultra-Orthodox area of the city. The ultra-Orthodox are a small group of extremely religious and theologically rigid Jews. They wear black, the men have long side curls, and every aspect of their lives is governed by the Old Testament. Rosenblit was the first passenger to board. She sat in the front of the bus so the driver could tell her when she reached her stop. Ultra-Orthodox men who boarded after her were uncomfortable when they saw her. Then one insisted he would not travel unless she moved to the back of the bus. "He started shouting, 'This is our bus they're not welcome here, if they want to come on, they have to respect us,'" said Tanya Rosenblit. "He said, 'Jewish men don't sit behind women!' And that was the statement that made me stay put."