Why the “Airbrush Incident” Bothers Me

I’m deeply troubled by the Airbrush Incident, but not for the reasons you might think. I’m not much of a feminist, and I understand Di Tzeitung‘s explanation that it doesn’t print photographs of women because they are “sexually suggestive.” Hey – I said I “understand” the explanation, not that I agree with it. I’m more offended that the paper altered an official White House photograph that states explicitly it can’t do that.

At the root of my consternation is the realization that I regard Hasidic mens’ control of women differently than I regard that of devout Muslim men. This story has me questioning why I “understand” this attitude in Hasidism, but find the Muslim practice insulting. Is it simply because I’m Jewish? Is it because of my Hasidic heritage? How can I justify such a double standard? Isn’t that the definition of prejudice? I’m prejudiced?

If I think the Muslim attitude is repressive, undignified, and shameful, shouldn’t I think the same of the Hasidic? And if I accept the Hasidic practice, why not the Muslim? It’s my inconsistency that disturbs me.

Hillary Clinton, Audrey Tomason, and the Hasidic Airbrush

Last Friday, Di Tzeitung, a Yiddish-language newspaper published in Brooklyn and read primarily by ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, ran the now-iconic photograph of President Obama and his advisors in the White House Situation Room, watching the Bin Laden story unfold. But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Director for Counterterrorism Audrey Tomason weren’t there. Di Tzeitung airbrushed them out. For religious reasons.

Di Tzeitung has a policy of not printing pictures of women because pictures of women are “sexually suggestive.” As the story of Di Tzeitung‘s censorship made the rounds, the paper explained that its readers “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.” Answering criticism that the paper violated the White House mandate not to manipulate photographs it’s released, the statement continues: “We should not have published the altered picture, and we have conveyed our regrets and apologies to the White House and to the State Department.” And finally: “The allegations that religious Jews denigrate women or do not respect women in public office, is a malicious slander and libel.”