A crowd of 250 women formed a flash-mob in Beit Shemesh in Israel on Friday to protest against the segregation of women in the state. A flashmob is the recent phenomenon whereby a group of people turn out at a pre-arranged place to perform a planned act.

Passersby and locals running to the bank in the Old Beit Shemesh city square were surprised to see a group of women grooving to Queen's “Don't Stop Me Now" in the small town outside Jerusalem, a flashpoint of conflict over gender segregation in recent weeks. Inspired, some residents joined into the dancing, which was organized via Facebook over the course of three weeks.

Dance organizer Miri Shalem said that the event was organized in protest of the violent extremist actions of "the group of crazies," and to show that there is another side to Beit Shemesh. "Today the women and girls demonstrated our unity in public and I hope we will continue to do this in the future in order to improve our city,” she said.

In recent weeks, an ultra-Orthodox man spat on an 8-year-old girl for "immodest" dress, and a subsequent protest for women's rights drew national attention, featuring speeches from national political leaders.

"We wanted to express our feelings in a unique way and highlight a different face of Beit Shemesh," said Brenda Ganot, one of the flashmob organisers and a Beit Shemesh resident.

"We love our city and want peaceful coexistence between the different sectors of the population; however, we will not sit quietly and let a group of crazy extremists set the tone for our city.”