Ultra-Orthodox News Website Apologizes; Will Pay Fine for Blurring the Faces of Women Leaders
A popular ultra-Orthodox news outlet on Sunday agreed to apologize and pay compensation after blurring the faces of a number of female Reform and Conservative leaders last year, according to the organization that brought a lawsuit against the site.
Last December, President Isaac Herzog met with representatives from the Reform and Conservative movements, as well as from the Women of the Wall activist group, to discuss the future of the egalitarian prayer section at the Western Wall.
In its report on the meeting, the Behadrei Haredim news site included a photograph of the meeting but blurred out the faces of the four female participants — Rakefet Ginsberg, CEO of Israel’s Masorti movement; Anna Kislanski, CEO of the Reform movement in Israel; Orly Erez-Likhovski, director of the Israel Religious Action Center; Yochi Rappeport, chairperson of Women of the Wall; and Tamar Gottlieb, vice-chairperson Women of the Wall.
This was in line with the website’s general policy of refraining from publishing photographs of all women, on the grounds that doing so goes against Jewish laws of modesty, though this is disputed by many strictly Orthodox rabbis.
These five women filed a civil suit against the news site earlier this year through the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), claiming discrimination, negligence, defamation and violating their privacy.
The case was sent to mediation, and on Sunday, Behadrei Haredim agreed to issue a formal apology and to pay compensation to the five women of an undisclosed sum — under the deal, the amount was kept secret. IRAC had initially demanded the site pay NIS 50,000 ($15,000) for publishing the blurred photograph.
“The website apologizes for blurring the faces of the women in a photograph published on December 1, 2021, and December 7, 2021, and wishes to express its regret for the damage caused to the women by publishing it,” the website wrote in a statement that was carried on the site on Sunday.
The five women involved issued a statement on Sunday hailing the decision, but also noting their concern over women’s rights in Israel in general.