A Stamford Hill newspaper has caused outrage after they cropped a Holocaust survivor out of a photo that accompanied an article about her receiving an MBE.
The Jewish Tribune, a Charedi weekly newspaper based in Stamford Hill, published an article about 99-year-old Auschwitz survivor Lily Ebert receiving an MBE for services to Holocaust education, but cropped the accompanying photo to only show her great-grandson Dov Forman.
Chochmat Nashim, an Orthodox activist group that campaigns for the inclusion of women in orthodox life, tweeted its outrage, writing: "Erasing a 99-year-old Holocaust Survivor is the lowest of the low. Dishonouring Jewish women is disgusting. Dishonouring survivors who tell their stories and carry them to the next generations is shameless. Lily you deserve to be heard and seen!"
The tweet has triggered a debate online on freedom of religion and the place of women in Orthodox Judaism. The Jewish Tribune does not publish photographs of women, but some argue that the policy is outdated.
One unnamed Twitter user wrote: "Frum papers and magazines have a policy of no pictures of women. The policy should be more nuanced but to make it as though they are targeting a Holocaust Survivor is unfair."
In response, Chochmat Nashim wrote: "Do you not think that when your supposed values lead you to erase the face of a Holocaust Survivor that perhaps you need to reevaluate?"
James Marlow, a commentator on Israeli and Jewish affairs, tweeted: "Their big mistake was printing the picture of Dov Forman which has made it worse. They should have just written the piece and left it with words or a picture of Auschwitz."
Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert stands with her her great-grandson Dov Forman as she poses with her medal after being appointed MBE following an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle (Photo by Andrew Matthews / POOL / AFP)
However, American-Israeli activist and writer Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll tweeted: "You have to know that you've got it wrong when your values lead you to crop out the image of an elderly Holocaust Survivor."
An anonymous user chimed in and said: "No one told you to read it. It's their newspaper and they can do what they want."
Lily Ebert received an MBE last month and was accompanied to Windsor Castle by four generations of her family: her daughter, son-in-law, her granddaughter.
As she received her accolade, she said to the King: “I was in hell, Auschwitz. How special it is to be here today, with The King, in the Palace!”.
Jewish Tribune editor Dan Levy told the JC: "As you understand, there is a blanket policy in publications like the JT not to publish photos of women.
"The JC is not the forum to discuss this policy or decisions about which photos we choose to accompany stories like the one in question."
