The cover picture on the Israeli newspaper HaMevaser may seem familiar to those who watched the historic march for free speech in Paris this weekend, but something is missing. If you said, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, you have a keen eye and the qualifications to be an ultra-Orthodox Jewish newspaper editor. The newspaper removed not just Merkel’s picture but the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo and Simonetta Sommaruga, the president of Switzerland as well as a European Union official. The reason? God does not want men to see pictures of women, even world leaders, for reasons of modesty and religious purity.
I have noted before the irony of the similarities between the view of such groups and extreme Muslim religious beliefs (particularly with regard to women) despite the historic tensions between the religions (here and here and here). The notion of Andrea Merkel corrupting the morals of Jewish ultra orthodox men is a new concept. It appears that the very appearance of Merkel can drive an Ultra Orthodox man crazy with desire and impure thoughts.
The best response came from an Irish satirical newspaper Waterford Whispers that released a photo that removed the male leaders. (For the photo, click here).
It is almost as if the Ultra Orthodox did not want to be out crazied by their Muslim counterparts after a Muslim cleric ruled that building Snowmen is a sin and potentially arousing.
Allison Kaplan Sommer of the newspaper Haaretz condemned the act as a national embarrassment “at a time that the Western world is rallying against manifestations of religious extremism, our extremists manage to take the stage.”
Others noted that the newspaper did not just blur the faces but actually removed the female leaders entirely as if the world is led by men alone.
Rama Burshtein, the ultra-Orthodox filmmaker of the critically acclaimed 2012 movie “Fill the Void,” explained “It’s very, very, very, very, very hard for a nonreligious person to understand the purity of eyes.” Yep, though many would call it insanity rather than purity to remove world leaders from historic pictures. He added “By us, men don’t look at women’s photos, period. As long as you don’t know that, then it sounds ridiculous, or changing history or events. But we’re not here to get the events the way they are. We are here to keep the eyes.” Well, most people know that you do not look at women or apparently allow airplanes to take off if there are women in your row. However it still sound ridiculous . . . even if you “keep the eyes.”
I expect that many people in Paris, still reeling from the attack of Muslim extremists, feel a bit like Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets:
Source: NY Times
Fundamentalism in any religion presents these hilarious situations.
However Angela Merkel just oozes sexuality.
Jeff, some folks just seek attention.
Objection your honor, non responsive.
Court: Objection sustained, comment stricken.
I’m sorry, Jeff. Your point is to make biased points about “the right” and reject any information to the contrary. You are a classic, elitist Ivy Leaguer. We have other Ivy Leaguers here that have open minds. You might learn a thing or two from them. You see Jeff, I am not “right” on many issues. But I detest folks who condescend and spout memes like parrots. The toughest people on immigrants are ALWAYS people @ the bottom of the ladder. When my Italian grandparents got to this country, it was the Irish. Go to Southie in Boston. White Dems who are just as racist, homophobe, and bigoted as any “on the right.” They vote for liberal Dem candidates every time.
Now, I’m an elitist, am I? Keep it up, Nick.
Just more proof that religion, of any sect or denomination, is a form of insanity. And the more “extreme” the belief, the crazier the behavior is, I’d say.
Again beside my point…
Jeff Sliberman is obviously not attuned to the real world. The group of people toughest on Mexicans are black people, and they vote 90% Dem.
where’s the cat
Golda Meir must be rolling over in her grave!!!
Here is another bizarre take on this parade:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.636883
It seems there are accusations by political opponents that Prime Minister Netanyahu ushered his way to the front of the crowd for favorable photo ops.
As a result, a video game was written where the player moves Bibi up to the front of the procession.
(note that music plays when the above link is pressed. If you wish to play the game, the keyboard arrow keys seem to move the Bibi character.)
Something else is going here. Israel’s first female prime minister was Golda Meir.
Israel’s first and the world’s fourth woman to hold such an office, she was described as the “Iron Lady” of Israeli politics years before the epithet became associated
with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion used to call Meir “the best man in the government”; she was often portrayed
as the “strong-willed, straight-talking, grey-bunned grandmother of the Jewish people”.
It’s getting more difficult to distinguish “real world” newspapers from The Onion.
This whole episode is a can of wiggly worms. At some point, the free speech argument has to come out of this series of events. Free speech is to protect us from governments–like some of the journalists our illustrious President has kept under wraps in crapholes in foreign nightmares. Like Billy Bob said the other night, maybe we should just not say or print anything.
♫ Je Suis Woman. Hear me Roar
Heard, not seen, you choose to ignore ♫
These newspaper editors need to lighten up a bit.
The extremists create a golum not realizing that they are creating their own god. They can fashion it any way their perversities and insecurities direct.
I do like the photo from the Irish magazine. Great payback.
I find it amusing when I hear the condemnations from the Right that Mexicans and Muslims who arrive in this country make no effort to assimilate to our way of life, but ignore the Hasidim and Amish who make every effort to shield themselves from American culture.
I do not want to start a religious war here, but are Jewish and Muslim men so weak as to be aroused by every woman they see?
Reblogged this on HAPLOGROUP – bit that makes us human..
Extremely orthodox Jews, Muslims and, when they were around, Christians who avoid the female form at all costs remind me of the observations once made regarding Japanese men. In Japanese porn, genitals must be pixelated out. After watching pixelated porn since they first found it, many of them were mildly aroused by pixelated images even of obviously innocent scenarios. A sort of knee-jerk reaction, not all that different to how the contextual association of a woman in lingerie provokes a more intense response than one in a bikini.
Likewise, the more the orthodox try and conceal and cover women’s bodies, the more male desire adapts to it and learns to associate the covered woman with, well, women, the more they have to conceal to outrun the male adaption.
At the end of the day, censorship can’t improve individual morality any more than torture can reduce your need to eat.