Government Advertising Agency to cease censoring Haredi women
Agency announces change following protests by feminist activists bemoaning total exclusion of women from public images, including one of a Shabbat table that only includes men; 'exclusion of women from public sphere is unacceptable.'
The Government Advertising Agency (Lapam) announced Sunday that it will cease censoring women in its publications aimed at the Haredi sector following protests by feminist groups.
In December of 2017, the Ministry of Social Equality launched an Israeli photo database that sought to represent all sectors of society in government publications. The database presented pictures of Israeli families by sector—Jewish, Arab and Druze.
However, as reported by Ynet, pictures of the Haredi sector did not feature women at all. Images of a Shabbat table, for example, completely excluded women from appearing, including mothers or sisters.
Immediately after the publication, the Ministry of Social Equality announced that the Haredi pictures would be changed to include women.
In addition, feminist activists turned to the Deputy Attorney General Dina Silber and to the director of the Government Advertising Agency, demanding an end to the exclusion of women from government publications. After discussions on the matter, the agency director announced the new policy.
"The Government Advertising Agency and the Ministry of Justice agree that the exclusion of women from the public sphere is a grave and unacceptable phenomenon, and that women should not be excluded from government advertising for the Haredi population,” read a statement released by the agency.
“As such, Lapam will not make adjustments to publications intended for the Haredi sector that discriminate between women and men, and if media outlets refuse to publish the advertisement, the publication will not be carried by that media source," it continued.
