Orthodox Paper Edits Angela Merkel Out of Paris March Photos
By Sarah Breger January 13, 2015
Ultra-Orthodox Israeli newspaper, HaMevaser caused a stir yesterday when it edited out two female world leaders from a photograph of the march for Charlie Hebdo in France. In the original photograph, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini appear marching in the front line of world leaders.
But on HaMevaser’s front page the women vanish:
For anyone familiar with the newspaper, this is not surprising — its policy is not to publish photographs of women and regularly edits them out of images.
In 2011, a similar scandal occurred when the ultra-Orthodox Der Tzitung photoshopped Hillary Clinton out of the photo of U.S. leaders receiving an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden.
At the time Elana Maryles Sztokman wrote in the Sisterhood:
The photoshopping of Clinton is indeed part of the larger Orthodox phenomenon of removing women from public spaces, silencing women’s voices, covering women’s bodies, and pretending women don’t exist. This is about creating a woman-free world, enabling men to walk through the universe knowing that they will never have to encounter a woman.
A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren
We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.
With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.
— Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief
