Haredi press can reject ad for all-woman party, court rules
Judge overturns previous decision to order ultra-Orthodox papers to publish election ads featuring women
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Three days after a district court ordered ultra-Orthodox newspapers to run election ads featuring women, the Supreme Court on Monday overturned that decision, arguing that the judgment was hastily made and would have to be reexamined in depth without time constraints.
The Haredi women’s party Bezchutan petitioned to have their advertisements shown in ultra-Orthodox print publications Yated Ne’eman and Yom Le’yom. A ruling Friday at the Lod District Court rejected claims that printing the images would insult the sensibilities of readers, and ordered their publication before Israelis head to the polls on March 17.
The newspapers, however, appealed that decision at the Supreme Court and the presiding judge ordered the commercials be postponed until the case can be properly mulled “without [the] time constraints” of Tuesday’s impending vote, Haaretz reported Monday.
Images of women are generally not displayed in ultra-Orthodox publications due to modesty concerns.
“The sequence of events led to a situation where the merits of the legal issue weren’t discussed in depth,” Supreme Court Justice Neal Hendel said.
“The necessary balance between conflicting interests and the principles at stake was not found [in the initial judgment,]” Hendel said.
He noted that a ruling had not been made in either of the parties’ favor, and called on both sides to hold a hearing within an acceptable time frame.
In January, the ultra-Orthodox paper HaMevaser sparked controversy when it edited German Chancellor Angela Merkel out of an photo of world leaders.
Yet despite the hubbub, an online election advertisement for Haredi party United Torah Judaism featured women, albeit modestly dressed.
The Bezchutan party, or “In their merit” in English, was launched in protest against the exclusively male ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism.
On the party list are three Haredi women, headed by a social activist.
No ultra-Orthodox female candidates have ever run on the Haredi parties’ lists, but Tzvia Greenfeld ran on the Meretz party list in 2008, becoming the first female ultra-Orthodox Knesset member.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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