Is Extremism Becoming the Norm?

While each article had a slightly different focus, if one reads between the lines I think what they are both seeking is what I and many observant Jews across the broad middle of the Orthodox spectrum seek. Including moderate Charedim: Normal behavior. 

One area of overlap between the two writers is in the area of ‘the disappearing woman’.  By which they mean that it is becoming  more commonplace to eliminate pictures of women from popular publications.  In what has to be one of the more disturbing examples of that,  a company advertising  clothing for children had a picture of two mannequins modeling clothing. One was a boy modeling boys clothing and the other was a headless mannequin modeling girls clothing. This is just one example of the extremes now so prevalent in these publications.

Publishing pictures of women is is not in any way a violation of Halacha. This is evidenced by Agudah, the organization whose rabbinic leaders are seen by many as the Gedolei Hador. Not long ago they published pictures on their own website of women speaking at their recent convention.  

And yet the phenomenon of erasing women has taken on a life of its own so severe that Hamodia, a widely distributed  mainstream Charedi newspaper, took Mishpacha Magazine to task for publishing a grotesquely distorted pictures of Hillary Clinton as a violation of Charedi modesty standards.

Mrs. Keats-Jaskoll rightly protests this development and has been speaking out about it for quite awhile. In her current article she takes to task both the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) anf the Orthodox Union (OU) for not doing more. In the case of the OU, she objects that the current issue of their fine magazine, Jewish Actionfeatured articles on Charedi publications that not only did not protest their practice of eliminating pictures of women but actually praised them. Here is how she puts it:

If I had to guess as to why Jewish Action did this, I would say that that article was not intended as anything more than a discussion about the success of a variety of Jewish publishers – without comment about their editorial or censorship policy. I am therefore not so quick to criticize Jewish Action or the OU. But I do understand very clearly where she is coming from. There definitely needs to be more done to turn the tide back to normalcy – and not allow extremist views about modesty to become the norm.

Rabbi Slifkin makes similar points in his post. But includes other issues he has with these publications. All of which are legitimate as well. He does offer an idea that would be at least in part a solution. I have made this suggestion myself many times. He believes that there ought to be a weekly magazine to counter the 2 most popular Charedi ones that are now dominating the Jewish marketplace. 

I actually discussed this idea a few years ago with the editor of the Jewish Press.

Now the Jewish Press is not everyone’s cup of tea. Indeed their views on Israel are to the right of Attila the Hun. Or more correctly they broadly if not precisely reflect  the views of Rabbi Meir Kahane.  This is an impediment to a wider Orthodox Jewish  readership. Nevertheless they are the one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish publications around and to their credit feature a broad spectrum of Orthodox Jewish writers and columnists from right to left. And perhaps more importantly they do not hesitate to publish pictures of women.

I suggested to their editor that they change their format from a tabloid to a glossy magazine with high end graphics to compete on a level playing field with the two Charedi Magazines. His response was that their editorial staff actually considered that possibility  – but in the end they did not feel it would be financially viable.

Perhaps they were right. A Jewish Press Magazinewould carry with it some of the baggage of their past as a tabloid. The print version has lost readership due to competition form on-line Jewish publications and  those 2 ‘glossies’.  Converting thieir tabloid to a glossy magazine will probably not change that too much - if at all. What might work however is a brand new magazine with a new name unrelated to the Jewish Press that would nevertheless feature some of their best writers and columnists along with some new ones.

As noted above, Rabbi Slifkin made a similar suggestion about the OU’s Jewish Action. It is currently a quarterly publication. He suggested that it become weekly magazine. I agree that this might help. But they too would have to improve the current level of graphic arts so as to compete with the already successful Charedi ‘glossies.

That said, I’m not entirely convinced that they would be successful. Because the readers that makes the Charedi ‘glossies’ so successful are not likely to switch to a magazine that does not as closely reflect their values. 

Sadly for Centrists like me - we are a relatively small segment of Orthodox Jewry compared to the Charedi world. And their community is growing a lot faster than ours. What counts in the publishing industry is circulation numbers. That determines the fees they will charge their advertisers. As noted by the Jewish Press about their own chances for success along these lines, I don’t know if such an enterprise would be financially feasible for Jewish Action either.

Of course, one never knows and it’s worth a try. What is at stake is more than just revenue for the publication’s owners and investors. It is a way of life that is at stake. What are the values of mainstream Orthodoxy going to be? Will they be those of the extremes that are becoming more commonplace? Or will it be the more sane and rational values that we have had in the past. Values that are clearly within the framework of Halacha even according to the Agudah Moetzes?

There has to be a wealthy Orthodox venture capitalist that is willing to invest in this kind of new enterprise. He or she will certainly get their money’s worth.  At least in terms of countering the trend towards extremism and influencing Orthodox Jewish public opinion towards a saner world. Who knows? If it’s done right and given time, it may become a financial success too.