The Jewish Burka Comes to Brooklyn
In Israel, as I noted earlier this year, a renegade group of Haredi women has taken to one-upping the already increasingly severe modesty standards of their community by donning Muslim-style burkas. The trend was apparently initiated by a female spiritual leader in the ultra-Orthodox stronghold of Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet. The fashion trend, which has reportedly dismayed husbands and rabbis alike, has spread to other ultra-Orthodox enclaves in Israel.
Now, Hasidic rapper/blogger Y-Love reports they’ve made their way to Brooklyn:
Not too long ago, I had my first abaya-sighting.
For the first time, I saw one of the followers of veil advocate Rabbanit Bruria Keren decked out in hijab sal and abaya…in Boro Park, walking down 13th Avenue with her friend, chatting and schmoozing in frumspeak.
The first thing I thought to myself was, “Oh no, they’re here. They’re here in Boro Park.”
Y-Love also links to a story in last week’s Times of London profiling a pair of Israeli women who have taken to wearing Muslim-style dress.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
