Clinton Airbrushed Out of Second Publication
Modesty policy ‘in no way relegates’ women, says one
May 10, 2011
The Tzitung front page.(Failed Messiah)
Der Tzitung was not the only Hasidic newspaper to airbrush Secretary of State Clinton out of the famed Situation Room photograph (a doing that was widely aired yesterday, though Tablet Magazine was a bit early to the party, linking to it last Friday). Brooklyn-based De Voch, a glossy weekly for the ultra-Orthodox, also did it, reports Failed Messiah. Ben Smith finds an instance in which Laura Bush was airbrushed out of a photo in Mishpacha magazine (which is now what Tablet Magazine should be renamed). And columnist Michelle Goldberg calls out the practice for what it indeed seems to be.
Speaking of which, Der Tzitung‘s full explanation is pretty epic. The Hasidic community, after all, embraced Clinton when she was New York’s senator for the better part of last decade. “In accord with our religious beliefs,” it explained, “we do not publish photos of women, which in no way relegates them to a lower status.” (Hrmm.) It added, “Because of laws of modesty, we are not allowed to publish pictures of women, and we regret if this gives an impression of disparaging to women, which is certainly never our intention. We apologize if this was seen as offensive.”
Another Hasidic Publication Photoshops Hillary Clinton Out Of Iconic Photo [Failed Messiah]
Related: Hillary Clinton, Audrey Tomason Go Missing in Situation Room Photo in Der Tzitung Newspaper [WP]
Oops! Sorry For Erasing Hillary [Daily Beast]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
