JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A group of Reform women are suing the B’Chadrei Charedi news website for blurring their faces in pictures.
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The Israel Religious Action Center said Wednesday it was seeking NIS 345,000 ($100,000) in damages for a picture B’Chadrei ran last December of female leaders of Jewish movements meeting with President Isaac Herzog, in which the faces of the women were digitally blurred.
The suit was filed Monday on behalf of Anna Kislanski, CEO of the Reform Movement in Israel; IRAC director Orly Erez-Likhovski; Rakefet Ginsburg, who leads the Conservative Movement in Israel; Yochi Rappeport, executive director of Women of the Wall; and Women of the Wall deputy leader Tammy Gottlieb.
The picture allegedly caused the plaintiffs “harm and humiliation” by blurring their faces “just because they are women.” The statement noted that the men’s faces were left unblurred.
“Be’Chadrei Charedim must pay a significant price for this illegal exclusion, compensating my colleagues for the humiliation caused,” IRAC executive director Anat Hoffman said in a statement.
“It is unacceptable to blur the faces of women in Israel in 2022,” she said in a statement. “Just as we fought other instances of the exclusion of women, we will not stay silent about this blatant and harmful exclusion and will do everything in our power to prevent similar discrimination in the future.”
The lawsuit is the first ever filed in Israel against a website “for the humiliating policies of erasing women,” according to IRAC.
The photo ran in December 2021 and in response to a request to unblur the women in the picture, B’Chadrei said that it does not consider its actions harmful to women and urged the plaintiffs to respect its readers’ way of life.
“We have no intention of hurting women. Like the majority of Haredi journalism and media, we too don’t publish photos of women, as part of our readers’ insistence on maintaining the dignity of women,” the website said in a statement.
“As part of our coverage of the issue of the Western Wall, we reported a visit to the President’s Residence, which included blurring out the photos that included women, and we don’t see that as being harmful in any way,” it said.
“As those responsible for our readers’ requirements, we respect their wishes and don’t exclude women. Those who tout the sacred value of ‘live and let live’ should understand that this is Chareidi media, this is our way of life,” the statement added.
How can they suffer “harm and humiliation” if people can not see who they are?
Did Bchadrei Chadarim put a tag line under the pictures “From left to right of blurred faces: Mrs. Ima Nidiot, etc.”?
they are bored fakers who make trouble because they have no life. Just like yafed
How can they prove that it’s them in the photo?
It’s a private company and can set their own rules, just like for ex “covid and masking rules in private companies”. This unrefined ladies need to get a life
Boo hoo hoo. They are a humiliation, to begin with. They are only doing this for attention to themselves and their cause.
Interesting that the arm bared by the short sleeve was not blocked. Nor was it commented upon by any of these people who are so makpid. Seeing a woman’s face isn’t as bad as seeing a woman’s arm from the elbow on up.
Reform has been trying to destroy Judaism for 200 or so years, a majority of them aren’t even halachically Jewish.
Anyway, why do they care what this chareidi site is showing? No one they know is reading or looking at it.
Interesting that the arm bared by the short sleeve was not blocked. Nor, was it commented upon by any of these people who are so makpid. Seeing a woman’s face isn’t as bad as seeing a woman’s arm from the elbow on up.
יתמו חטאים מן הארץ ורשעים עוד אינם ברכי נפשי את השם , הללויה
Although the reform are reshoim, the Be’Chadrei Charedim website is from start to finish a loshon horah and moizi shem rah operation full of sheker and needs to be closed down anyway
Haredim should stop provoking fights . If people find blurred faces offensive , then the picture in question should not be published at all . Better yet , men should better control their yetzer haras for womens faces .
If they don’t allow pictures of women , they should have omitted the picture altogether . Blurring a face is offensive .