YNet reports:
A 10-year-old new immigrant from France was forced to leave the soccer team for which he was registered since according to him, the other children refused to play with him because he wears a yarmulke.
Y., a fifth grade student at the Netiv Zvulun School in Modiin, signed up for the extracurricular activity at the youth cultural center at the city's Yovel School. “Getting to the club at the other school was easier for my wife,” said the boy’s father. “I thought that it would be nice for the boy if he met new friends even if they were not religious and that he could play with them.”
After the second soccer practice, the boy came home crying and agitated. “He said that he refuses to go back there as the children would not play with him because he is religious. He was really hurt and did not understand what he did,” said the father. “Some of the children pulled each new kid aside and told them, ‘Don’t play with him and don’t pass him the ball during practice because he wears a yarmulke and prays. We don’t want religious people in our group,’” recalled Y.
A 10-year-old new immigrant from France was forced to leave the soccer team for which he was registered since according to him, the other children refused to play with him because he wears a yarmulke.
Y., a fifth grade student at the Netiv Zvulun School in Modiin, signed up for the extracurricular activity at the youth cultural center at the city's Yovel School. “Getting to the club at the other school was easier for my wife,” said the boy’s father. “I thought that it would be nice for the boy if he met new friends even if they were not religious and that he could play with them.”
After the second soccer practice, the boy came home crying and agitated. “He said that he refuses to go back there as the children would not play with him because he is religious. He was really hurt and did not understand what he did,” said the father. “Some of the children pulled each new kid aside and told them, ‘Don’t play with him and don’t pass him the ball during practice because he wears a yarmulke and prays. We don’t want religious people in our group,’” recalled Y.
The boy also said that he tried going to their instructor but that he wouldn’t listen to him during practice and that the next lesson began right away. [...]
The truth is that it is not very newsworthy. First of all the soccer coach is to be faulted for not taking a more proactive stance on the issue.
ReplyDeleteHowever for many people this is part of growing up. Many outsiders from different groups in every culture are initially rejected by their peers. It is up to the supervisors to help things along. Also the new kid will have to stand his/her ground in order to gain acceptance.
I cannot believe that this made it into a national news service.
It's nice that you mention this incident.
ReplyDeleteIt's really disastrous.
When I was a hozer bitshuva, none of the religious orthodox youths would "play with me" (i.e. speak to me, etc), because their mothers had not told them that I was "kosher" or something like this.
I think the problem with "discrimination of people who seem different" is much worse in the haredi world than in the non-chareidi world, practically speaking.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
ReplyDeleteOr put another way: how much longer can we ignore the lessons of Tisha B'Av?
Most frum people don't want their kids playing with the non religious.
ReplyDeleteFrom the secular point of view, they are just doing to the religious kid what the religious kids do to them.
If the religious segment had more "ahavas yisrael", the secular probably wouldn't backlash this way.