Flash mob in a flashpoint town: On Friday in Beit Shemesh, a city that has been a the center of the battle over exclusion of women from the public sphere and rising tensions between Israel's secular and Orthodox communities, about 100 women and girls burst into a seemingly spontaneous, and defiantly public, dance. The women, both religious and secular, were milling about in a central square as if they didn't know each other, when they all of a sudden they broke into a carefully choreographed and synchronized dance to the tune of Queen's "Don't Stop me Now." The practice where seeming strangers burst into coordinated activity in public is popularly known as a "flash mob" and has been seen in various incarnations across the globe. "We wanted to show the world a different side of Beit Shemesh. We wanted to protest in a unique way against segregation against women and the extremism and violence of a bunch of hooligans who succeeded in rattling the rest of the city," said Beit Shemesh resident Miri Shalem, one of the organizers of the flash mob.
Flash mobs have been used in past years to bring attention to various causes and movements. In June a flash mob wowed tourists walking around Jerusalem's Mamila pedestrian mall, with participants performing a professional dance routine in the middle of the mall and then seamlessly dispersing back into the crowd.
Don't stop dancing: Beit Shemesh women reclaim public square
More than 100 women come together to perform a seemingly spontaneous coordinated dance • Participants came from all religious backgrounds and all ages and danced to Queen's "Don't Stop me Now."
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