An American Jewish newspaper says that it doesn’t publish images of women in its newspaper. The Brooklyn weekly went as far as doctoring the photo that shows US President Barack Obama and his staff monitoring the raid by Navy SEALs that killed Osama bin Laden.
Two females in the photo – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Counterterrorism Director Audrey Tomason were deleted from the photo before printing it.
The weekly, Di Tzeitung is published in Yiddish, and is sold at the newsstands in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg and Borough Park. The original photo of the situation room is
posted below:
The newspaper released a statement to apologize the mistake :
Our photo editor realizing the significance of this historic moment, published the picture, but in his haste, did not read the "fine print" that accompanied the picture, forbidding any changes and published a picture omitting the female participants in the room.
Our editorial policies are guided by a Rabbinical Board and because of laws of modesty, does not allow for the publishing of photos of women. The readership of the Tzeitung believe that women should be appreciated for who
they are and what they do, not for what they look like, and the Jewish laws of modesty are an expression of respect for women, not the opposite.The allegations by some, that Orthodox Judaism denigrates women or do not respect women in public office,is a malicious slander and libel. The Jewish religion does not allow for discrimination based or gender, race, etc.
The full statement can be read in the website of the newspaper – ditzeitung.com