The town has been the scene of bitter controversies over lifestyle and the status of women. In 2011, it drew international headlines after an eight-year-old girl was reportedly spat on and insulted by Haredi men as she walked to school near an ultra-Orthodox neightbourhood. Last year, Egged, Israel's main bus operator, was ordered to compensate a girl who was forced by religious passengers to sit at the rear of the vehicle.