Jerusalem – It takes time to grasp that something is missing in public spaces in Israel’s capital. But once you notice it, it’s hard to fathom how you didn’t pay attention to this fact earlier. It appears that in recent years, and in an escalated fashion in the past several months, women have disappeared from advertisements in Jerusalem.
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This fact does not refer to scantily clad models, who were purged from signs and posters in the city several years ago as a result of campaigns waged by the ultra-Orthodox – struggles that sometimes included the burning and destruction of billboards and bus stops. The purging of women from publicly displayed pictures in Jerusalem applies to images of females in regular dress and daily situations. Pictures of women in family settings and advertisements of women using face cream or being connected to food or fashion products are hard to come by in this city.
Jerusalem municipality officials adamantly deny that there has been a change in the city’s advertising policy, and they refer to several advertising campaigns that featured images of women. However, figures in the city’s public relations industry admit that women have been entirely removed from public billboards and pictorial advertisements.
It seems that this trend is being led by private advertisers who prefer to conceal women rather than deal with ultra-Orthodox anger. For instance, a hamburger company that promoted its product around the country with a picture of happy family members choose in Jerusalem to show only images of its burgers. In Jerusalem, a campaign for regional radio stations dropped the image of radio presenter Ofira Asayag, which was featured everywhere else in the country.
According to Vered Levin-Yerushalmi, the owner of a media consulting agency in Jerusalem, this trend is also conspicuous in local Jerusalem newspapers.
“Everyone is guilty of this sin,” says Levin-Yerushalmi. “You say to yourself, ‘Who needs this headache?’ There are all sorts of simple graphic solutions, so why get yourself stuck in this bind?
I wonder will they delete all mention of woman from the Torah
it may come soon
baruch hashem! finally some voluntary kavod for the holy city!
id like to see the dissenters from torah comment on this defending public immodesty in the holy city.
choose your side, modernity or orthodoxy, cant have both.
We need to thank the askunim who work tirelessly to srenghten the kedusha throughout eretz yisroel.
I know a choshuva Rav who privately told his talmidim not to buy Jewish children’s books that leave women out because women are the pillar of families and to leave them out of scenes in a book involving families sends a bad message to children…
If ur looking for business and u don’t have political agendas that’s the way u think! I can promote my business without getting into fights, unlike #1 who is a self hating jew (if bichlal a yid)
BH. Moshiach is one step closer.
This is blatant, overt, religious fundamentalism – pure and simple.
Jerusalem’s (self-appointed) askanim seem to have learned an awful lot from their Iranian Muslim counterparts.
# 1 C”V. We will never, ever delete even a single word, or letter, of our Holy Tanach.
Its not hard to understand when the charedi population is increasing and they are becoming more irrational and deviant. They refuse to behave in a normal manner and it seems the rest of the population is being intimidated into subscribing to their brand of insanity.
Above posters have already expressed my views on this issue, but I’d like to respond to SherrytheNoahide’s post.
Sherry, I remember being surprised the first time I saw your name on this site, and I’ve been reading all your responses with interest. I am always impressed by your wise and well-balanced comments. You are clearly a wonderful, spiritual person who brings light and wisdom into this world and helps spread knowledge of Hashem and His Torah. I have great respect for you, and, as a fellow mother, I’d like to wish you success in raising your son to be an upstanding, honorable man who knows G-d as you do. May Hashem bless you and your family.
Having worked closely with Christian fundamentalists in the US and Muslim fundamentalists abroad, I sigh in shame and sadness to see the same controlling and fear-driven influences creeping into the chareidi world. This is Jewish Talibanism – and it doesn’t stop because there’s always “a next level” and “a next battle”. Moshiach – save us from ourselves!
#6 ,
1. Watch your language.
2. FYI, kol isha (a woman singing) is explicitly called arousing. What to do if one is forced into such a situation is another question.
To all the modesty police:
There is a joke about a boy in such a heder whose class gets to the pasuk “kesheyikach ish isha” and asks “rebbe, what’s a woman?” The big danger is that this extremism will backfire and cause a disdain for real halachot (as happened with #6 ).
Sherry your comments are terrific. Keep them coming. What frightens me is that this nuttiness will sully the reputation of the Torah.
It’s not about tznius! It’s not about purity of the Jewish soul!
It’s about a power struggle by the rabbis against the politicians, and the rabbis against other rabbis.
This is just one way of flexing their muscles and imposing their power upon others. It matters little who those “others” might be, or the inconveniences, expenses, and suffering inflicted upon anyone else.
The Zallie-Aronie altercation amidst the Satmars, and the torching of the house in New Square — These are examples of what to expect whenever the powers of the rabbis are unchecked, and when the rabbis have nobody to whom they must answer.
Rule by the rabbis would be fine if the rabbis were infallable. But, as has been demonstrated time and again, and is demonstrated each and every day, no rabbi is infallible. Not even Moshe Rabbenu!
So understand this campaign against depicting women in advertisements for what it really is!
Gentlemen: If you have removed all the women , what did you do with your mothers and wives?? How did you men come into this world?? A little respect for the women!! You put them on the back of the bus so as not to look at them, I understand that!! Did you ever stop and think, once, how they felt. A pregnant woman having to shlep a stroller all the way to the bacjk of the bus!! Nobody helps!! They never do!! Sometimes they are just a bunch of (LAZY BUMS), pardon the description, but it is the only one that fits and it makes me angry!! These women, work, shop, cook, clean and prepare your shabbas and yom tov and what do they get from you. Sometimes, you walk away from the table and go to sleep. Not even a Thank you!! That is what genlemen call, RESPECT!!
Next up …
* Way too many women in Sefer Beresishis, time to remove them all, we don’t want innocent children wondering what these mysterious creatures are, G-d forbid!
* Words “wife” and “mother” need to be removed from the Aseres H’Dibros, particularly as this is often displayed in shul where such terms are completely inappropriate.
* While we’re at it, Devorah H’Naviah needs to be retired from the list of shoftim. A female leader? Such a shanda! She’s no longer an appropriate role model for our generation.
* MIshnayos Seder Nashim? A whole seder named “women”? It’s got to go, five is a simpler number anyway.
Welcome to Charedistan! 🙁
My son brought home a d’var torah from school. He read is on shabbos, and explained that Odom made is possible for the snake to ensnare Chavah. Why? The prohibition was against eating from the tree, Odom added a safety net and told Chavah not to touch the tree. When the snake pushed her to touch the tree and nothing happened, it was easier to say “see, touching was harmless so eating is ok, too”. While Chachomim tried to make a fence around Torah, even those fences have to be erected sensibly, and their purpose fully clarified. Being more frum then Torah is dangerous. It is no coincidence that we’re seeing more of our children wonder away from Yidishkeit at the same time that “Daas Torah” seeks to push an extremist agenda. Don’t ever forget that the more the pendulum is pulled to the right, the more it’ll inevitably swing back to the left.
Proud-2-B-Orthodox Says: Reply to #23
to “monseyma”: Slow down there on “SherryTheNoahide”… Please don’t say she “helps spread knowledge of Hashem and His Torah”. Sherry herself (in post #20 ) said that she is a gentile. Sherry may have proper morals and “gets it”, but saying that she spreads the ” knowledge of Hashem and His Torah” is an absolute falsity.
Someone like Sherry, who lives like a true Noahide, acknowledging G-d’s existence and Toras Emes and openly talking about it, is certainly spreading knowledge of Hashem and His Torah in this world. I don’t so the contradiction.
#4 those who have her (#1)hashkafa are usually of the reform ‘religion’ (usually MO and down)
#42 also MO do quite few thing oiser deoireise…mixed swimm, no mechitze talking freely with opposite gender especially aishes ish etc
#40 my friend and your ignorant ora non jew. this is a beferishe gemmorah and din in shulchun urech.now if you dont like the shulchen urech, aka torah, because its, lhavdil ufor lepima, like taliban go to reform, christian, conservative etc site
#41 and you big goen decided that this is more than necessary
#41 we do not pasken from devar toirelech. they are nice for shabbos table etc but halacha lemaise we have chazal, SU. you see, young man, you heard a toirele and apply it according to YOUR outlook. see meforshay hatorah eg chasam soifer on the reason…
bottom line all THOSE posters dont know the existence of issur histaklus,hurhurin shmiras hueinyim, taharas machshovos and taharas machshovos beshais mayse which bring into the world not so holy neshomes etc etc bcause their oulook comes from romantic shmutzmbookes etc etc ansd all the free free eisofs world
It’s one thing to see a woman and talk to a woman, it’s another, when it’s an in your face billboard. There is nothing wrong halachically with seeing or talking to a woman when necessary, but, who needs any billboards any way? (even with men on them)
This is confusing to me that there is even a debate here on a “frum” site. I wouldn’t want to be on a billboard and I don’t know any frum woman that would. The point of any advertisement is to get people to look at it. If we aren’t supposed to wear clothes that are eyecatching, why in the world would it be ok to be on a billboard. And why wouldn’t it be preferable to have these eye catching billboards without women in them? As we’ve said before, nobody here is sugesting to get rid of women in the world (???). This isn’t childrens books were talking about, its billboards.
What kind of woman would pose for a picture and want it pasted all over town? And what kind of man would defend her and call her modest?
Enough said.
I as a woman can deal without my photo being broadcast, I can deal with the separation from men, I can cover my body, What I can not deal with is being totally dismissed! This my friends is the real issue.
it is really getting out of hand, even in Wilmington, NY recently there were sign’s put up in Yiddish which stated”if a man is walking toward a woman on the side walk (she) is to step aside.Then there is Jewish women dressing like the Taliban in Jerusalem, Yes, men should be protected against the possibility of arousal. However, Men should be men too for their women. Women need them to be gentlemen, strong, brave with self control. Defending us and protecting us not demeaning and lessening our existence, acting weak and vulnerable to the very appearance of a woman. If their minds are on G-d, as they should be, then when they see other Frum women then they should look at them as a mother, sister, aunt ect… not as an object. Other than this it is Meshugana and should be seen as such and exposed every time you see it then many eventually the light will turn on and other wont follow crazy.
It isn’t just Jerusalem. In Chicago I’ve noticed that women are being removed from all kinds of things. For example, it used to be that ads for yeshiva or kollel dinners that honored a couple would have a picture of both the husband and wife. Now you see only the man over the caption “Rabbi and Mrs..”.
This is very recent. And disturbing. Its also politically incorrect to point it out. And I haven’t heard any of the charadei Rabbis condemning this. I guess they subscribe to the dictum “If a little sexism is good, a lot is better”. Hashem Yirachaim.
First of all its williamsburg not willmington. Second of all I am in that neighborhood as we speak. Some weirdos put the sign up I presume, but despite the strict standards of tznius here, we walk on whatever side of the street we want and nobody cares. Why do these signs speka for everyone , or even for everyone that lives here? I don’t get it.
To #51 My husband is very well trained and is not lazy!! Please read the entire post.
Sherry: not sure if I misunderstood you but… Even jewish women don’t cover their hair until marriage. So unless your daughter is married her hair can show. This is the custom of the frumest of the frum in meah sharim, williamsburg, boro park, etc etc.
I agree with those who consider it ridiculous and offensive to remove all pictures of women. However, billboards are a special case. They usually depict people who are young and attractive, and they are often larger than life.
#74 he crossed no line, maybe your MO line..according to hiddescription of what wife does it called ‘pritzoh;
The silent majority of Israelis don’t subscribe to Jewish talibans. The fanatics are in for a very rude awakening.
# 88 yes, from a dvar toireleh you cant pasken shilos. Lets take this as example. Rashi hakadosh says, which of course is a medresh; because she added more so…Now the question arises, which meforshau hatorah mention, and thats why i referred to the chasam soifer in toras moshe who also expounds on this question; ‘vasai seyog letorah’ so what did chave do wrong?so you see young man..and your toirele wants to bring a reioh from here that we shouldnt add stringencies while the meforshei hatorah question rashi
#77 just identify yourself what level observance you belong to eg MO conservative etc and willl understand why you lable this as just a ‘trend’. you know by most people of the world the torah is just a trend
Another example of this trend would be the so called “mehadrin” buses in Israel. (I find that term offensive). I may be mistaken, but I don’t think these existed 20 or even 10 years ago. This is a new mishagos.