# Spitting on priests **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 5, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994 "2011-11-05T21:39:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/21 "2011-11-06T04:27:42Z")
A girl I know had rocks thrown at her and her friend by Orthodox Jews while visiting Israel. They were walking home in their bathing suits (wrapped in towels) after swimming at the local pool. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/22 "2011-11-06T05:56:54Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > How do you see this playing out for the future of Israel, given that the ultra-orthodox and ultranationalists have a birthrate that is extravagantly higher than that of secular Jews? Me, if I were in your boots, I would be a mite concerned. I \*am \*concerned - very concerned. I just don’t have any easy solutions. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/23 "2011-11-06T14:31:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I \*am \*concerned - very concerned. I just don’t have any easy solutions. Well, it’s an inherent problem with Israel: by defining itself as a Jewish state, it invites societal pissing contests over who’s more Jewish. And on this front, it’s hard to rebut the pretentions of the ultra-orthodox. As you say, there are no easy answers. To my way of thinking, secular Israelis need to think hard about making common cause with secular Arabs, with whom they actually have a lot more in common than with the hyper-religious. But I just can’t see it happening. The sense of estrangement is too deep. Instead, I imagine, you’ll just see more and more secular Jews calling it quits and bailing out. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/24 "2011-11-06T14:56:58Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > Well, it’s an inherent problem with Israel: by defining itself as a Jewish state, it invites societal pissing contests… Spitting contests, you mean. One solution is that the priests start arming themselves with the most phlegmy people they can find. All they’d need is a copious supply on milk. Fight spit with mucous, I say. And stick a few projectile-vomituous people in there just to shake things up. That’ll learn 'em real quick! What kind of punkass bitch spits and then runs away? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/25 "2011-11-06T15:31:38Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > What kind of punkass bitch spits and then runs away? A spit-and-run driver? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/26 "2011-11-06T15:57:10Z")
There have to be some amusing incidents of people spitting on the sort of people you ought not to spit on, resulting in bloody emergency room visits. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/27 "2011-11-06T16:44:20Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > Well, it’s an inherent problem with Israel: by defining itself as a Jewish state, it invites societal pissing contests over who’s more Jewish. And on this front, it’s hard to rebut the pretentions of the ultra-orthodox. As you say, there are no easy answers. To my way of thinking, secular Israelis need to think hard about making common cause with secular Arabs, with whom they actually have a lot more in common than with the hyper-religious. But I just can’t see it happening. The sense of estrangement is too deep. Instead, I imagine, you’ll just see more and more secular Jews calling it quits and bailing out. Who are “the secular Arabs” and why would they want to ally themselves with Jews? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/28 "2011-11-06T16:44:25Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > There have to be some amusing incidents of people spitting on the sort of people you ought not to spit on, resulting in bloody emergency room visits. The OP’s article has Orthodox Jews spitting on a seminary student who used to be a football player and who had not yet quite internalized the lesson of “turn the other cheek”. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/29 "2011-11-06T18:13:56Z")
Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t the ultra-orthodox oppose the formation of the sate of Israel? Was not Israel a creation of secular and liberal Jews? ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/30 "2011-11-06T19:03:17Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Put them in the same box with Muslim terrorists, Christian terrorists, Hindu terrorists, and atheist terrorists…then padlock the box and drop it into a volcano somewhere. I don’t think there are a lot of atheist terrorists, unless you mean Communists. It’s hard to whip up that terrorist fervor when your ideology is that you don’t believe in something. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/31 "2011-11-06T19:35:10Z")
Spitting and throwing rocks? Good thing Tommy Burdock didn’t have the Mossad and a nuclear arsenal, or there was no way Mrs. Widmer could have kept him in the Poor Choice room during recess period. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/32 "2011-11-06T19:46:07Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I don’t think there are a lot of atheist terrorists, unless you mean Communists. It’s hard to whip up that terrorist fervor when your ideology is that you don’t believe in something. They finally got smushed about three years ago, but prior to that, the [Tamil Tigers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam) were the world’s most active terrorist organization,and they were largely atheist. In fact, the LTTE is responsible for a lot of innovations in terrorism used elsewhere. Nasty folks. I think it should be pretty obvious that you can become a terrorist so long as there’s a cause you’re willing to kill people for, and you can become a suicide bomber so long as there’s a cause you’re willing to die for —atheists can have both, ergo atheists can be terrorists. [End of hijack.] ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/33 "2011-11-06T19:48:44Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t the ultra-orthodox oppose the formation of the sate of Israel? Was not Israel a creation of secular and liberal Jews? I don’t think I’d describe the revisionists Zionists as “liberal” but yes, at the time most of the Ultra-Orthodox opposed Israel’s creation because they objected to it being created prior to the coming of the Messiah. Obviously most now support it, though the Satmars and some others still very strongly object to it’s existence. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/34 "2011-11-06T21:56:00Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I don’t think there are a lot of atheist terrorists, unless you mean Communists. It’s hard to whip up that terrorist fervor when your ideology is that you don’t believe in something. Well, I wanted to be as inclusive as possible… And, alas, no, there are idiot hard-line atheists who hate religion so much, they do dumb things like chopping down hilltop crosses… (I know: I used to be that kind of atheist idiot!) It may not quite rise to the level of terrorism, but it comes close… (By the way, it was general-topic discussion boards like this one that cured me of my absurd hatred. Now I’m just a grumpy atheist! Not perfect, but…better?) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/35 "2011-11-06T23:30:53Z")
Why do the spitters spit? The article didn’t even attempt to answer that question. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/36 "2011-11-07T00:23:08Z")
Spitting is disgusting. Toleration of the behavior cited in the OP (by the way, just how does the newspaper know how common it is if few are reporting it?) is not exactly an advertisement for Israel having Jerusalem as its undivided capital city under any future Mideast settlement, if they can’t maintain a relaxed and tolerant atmosphere for all faiths. > [@Alessan](#): > > I \*am \*concerned - very concerned. I just don’t have any easy solutions. Here’s a couple for the incidents in question: 1) More security cameras. Put images of spitters on the nightly news, and bust the ones who are turned in. 2) Send out cops undercover dressed as priests. Bust the spitters. And in general, 3) Elect more officials willing to empower cops and the military to arrest lawbreakers, no matter how devout they pretend to be. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/37 "2011-11-07T00:56:36Z")
Spitting on people you don’t like is a ‘thing’ all over Israel. What a charming country. My friend is married to an Israeli man and they have two children; she’s a]black (with obviously mixed kids) b]not Jewish c]clearly American and d]doesn’t always dress modestly enough to satisfy; she has many stories of loogies being hocked on her whenever they visit (his family lives in Jerusalem). She often spits back. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/38 "2011-11-07T06:19:08Z")
I apologize for your friend, but spitting doesn’t happen “all over Israel” - just in Jerusalem and other primative enclaves. My son has several mixed-race kids in his class, and nobody spits on their parents. As for modesty, just try and walk anywhere in Tel Aviv during beach season. Bikini central. The problem is, most American immigrants and tourists tend to congregate in Jerusalem, despite the city’s general suckiness. Of course, as Americans seem to contribute a disproportionate share of the nutbags, it’s only fair. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/39 "2011-11-07T07:30:24Z")
> [@straight\_man](#): > > They finally got smushed about three years ago, but prior to that, the [Tamil Tigers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam) were the world’s most active terrorist organization,and they were largely atheist. You know there is a difference between a terrorist with long hair and a long hair terrorist, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/40 "2011-11-07T07:42:12Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Who are “the secular Arabs” and why would they want to ally themselves with Jews? The ones who have read those parts about respecting other religions, and because they’d like to live peacefully. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994.md?page=3)