BY NATASHA BARSOTTI — A teenaged girl alleges that a group of yeshiva students assaulted her because of her appearance and her perceived sexual orientation Dec 30, The Times of Israel reports. 
The girl, who is not identified in the report and is referred to only as M in another report, in Yedioth Ahronoth, says she was wearing headphones as she passed the boys at a bus stop in the city of Ganei Tikva, near Tel Aviv. Moments later, she says, she heard yelling, and upon taking off the headphones, she realized they were shouting at her, calling her a lesbian and asking, “Is it a boy or a girl?” She says that the boys then started throwing rocks at her, causing bruising to her face.
“I was shocked. I never thought something like this could happen,” M is quoted as saying. “I pass through this neighborhood every day. I did nothing provocative; it’s not like I was wearing the rainbow flag on my back. I was minding my own business. I wasn’t bothering anyone,” she added. “Why did they mob me? They were judging me based on my appearance – and they were right, the way I look isn’t misleading – but the fact that a woman has a short hairdo doesn’t mean anything. I’m not active anywhere, they couldn’t have recognized me from anywhere. It was all about the way I look.”
Both The Times of Israel and Yedioth Ahronoth say police confirm that an investigation into the incident is underway.
In the aftermath of the attack, the 17-year-old says that while she is a bit scared, she plans to walk through the same location in the future.
“This is 2013 – these things shouldn’t happen.”
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