JERUSALEM, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday issued a harsh rebuke against gender discrimination and called for the arrests of men who harass women .
Netanyahu referred to a report of an 8-year-old girl who was harassed by ultra-orthodox Jewish males as she walked to school in Beit Shemesh. Channel 2 Friday night said the males spat at her and called her names, and she is now afraid to walk to school.
"In liberal, western democracies the public space is open and secure for everyone -- men and women alike. There is no place here for any harassment or discrimination," The Jerusalem Post quoted Netanyahu saying at Sunday's cabinet meeting.
The prime minister instructed Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch to arrest those responsible for harassing women and ordered all government ministries and municipal authorities to remove signs calling for gender segregation, the newspaper said.
The latest incident comes days after an Israeli woman refused to adhere to calls by members of the ultra-orthodox community to move to the rear of the bus bound for Jerusalem.
