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Subscribe to RSSIsrael has historically faced hostility from it's Arab neighbors. Now, it is facing hostility within it's own borders as the battle between ultra-Orthodox and secular Jews threatens to divide the country. NBC's Martin Fletcher reports.
TEL AVIV – Israel’s orthodox and secular Jews are in the midst of a pitched battle over the role of women in society.
It's a question as old as the state: how Jewish will the country be? In recent weeks radical ultraorthodox Jews have hit the headlines after one told a woman to go to the back of a public bus. Others smashed the windows of shops with content they considered provocative, defaced posters of women and even threatened children.
It's all about so-called modesty. Radical ultraorthodox want women out of sight, so that they won't be tempted – even by children.
It's a decades old fight that sometimes hits the headlines. But under Israel's right-wing religious coalition government, the tension is growing.
NBC News’ Martin Fletcher reports from Tel Aviv on the ongoing battle. Watch the video above.
