Israeli Female Prayer Ads Defaced

Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem attacked buses Monday night because they bore ads encouraging women to pray at the Western Wall. About 50 men slashed tires and threw stones at the buses, according to police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld. Women of the Wall, a group that encourages gender equality at the Jewish holy site, sponsored the advertisements. The pictures featured women wearing prayer shawls and holding Torah scrolls, which ultra-Orthodox Jews believe is a right reserved only for men. Video footage showed “end the obscene pictures” spraypainted on the buses. Since Women of the Wall launched the campaign on Oct. 12, about half of their ads have been defaced. “This is only about gender roles and discrimination against women and the image of women,” said Women of the Wall spokeswoman Shira Pruce. “If those were boys in the ads, this would not be a news story.”