Orthodox Paper Erases Female Leaders From Paris March Photo
Remember that beautiful, historic photo of world leaders linking arms and marching through Paris to support free speech? The Israeli newspaper HaMevaser decided it would look better without women.
Above, the scrubbed, "modest" version of the famous photo. HaMevaser
Remember that beautiful, historic photo of world leaders linking arms and marching through Paris to support free speech? The Israeli newspaper HaMevaser decided it would look better without women.
Ultra-Orthodox tradition prohibits depictions of women, for the sake of modesty. So auf wiedersehen German Chancellor Angela Merkel, adieu Paris Mayor Ann Hidalgo, farvel Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. Your place in history is immodest and insecure, at least in the pages of HaMevaser.
Slate’s Beth Ethier recalls a similar incident a few years ago: “Di Tzeitung made headlines in 2011 by removing Hillary Clinton from a photo taken in the White House Situation Room during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.”
— Posted by Peter Z. Scheer
Wait, before you go…If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
Can free speech be isolated as an absolute value when any practice of freedom is affected by the social and political context of today’s unequal power relations?
"The Realist Cartoons" confirms humor as an essential tool for escaping the notion that our leaders are wise and benign stewards of justice.
Like the Occupy Wall Street movement, the Paris “Nuit Debout” protests over labor reforms are fueled by social media, which allow people to communicate instantly with one another and bypass corporate media when it ignores them.
The killings in Brussels or Paris and the killings in U.S. military strikes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria or Libya perpetuate the same dark lusts. The savage tit-for-tat game will not end until we rouse ourselves from our hypnotized state.
Despite the hype about Islamic State, other al-Qaida offshoots remain very dangerous.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.