Belz rabbis in Stamford Hill say children driven to school by their mothers will be turned away for breaching 'traditional rules of modesty'
Leaders of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect in north London have said children who are driven to school by their mothers will be turned away at the school gates.
Rabbis from the marginal Hasidic sect Belz have told women in Stamford Hill who drive that they go against "the traditional rules of modesty in our camp".
In a letter sent to parents last week, seen by the Jewish Chronicle, they say there has been an increase in the number of mothers driving their children to school and add that this has led to "great resentment among parents of pupils of our [Hasidic] institutions".
The letter says the ban, to come into force in the summer, is based on the recommendations of Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, the Belzer spiritual leader in Israel.
It says that if a mother has no other choice but to drive her child to school – for medical reasons, for example – she should "submit a request to the special committee to this effect and the committee shall consider her request".
The sect's rabbinic leaders said that allowing women to drive goes against "the traditional rules of modesty in our camp," the Jewish Chronicle reported Thursday.
The letter also said that as of August students would not be allowed to enter school if their mothers drove them there.
According to the letter, the increasing numbers of mothers who drive has led to "great resentment among parents of pupils in our institutions."
The policy of not allowing students to come to school if their mothers drive came from the Belzer rebbe in Israel, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
Britain's Belz community is centered in north London, where it runs a day school for boys and a second school for girls.