Shawl Cult Involved in Possible Kidnapping

Kikar Hashabbat, a haredi news site, reported the following story. Below is my translation, with a few notes. It started about 8 months ago, when a 19-year-old haredi woman disappeared from her parents' home. Two days later the parents located her by phone. The daughter explained that she was … [Read more...]

More Details Emerge about Veiled Women’s Cult

Tamar Rotem discussed the recent opposition to the cult of the veiled women in the Haaretz Friday weekly Hashavua. Even Haaretz calls them "Taliban women" only in quotes. She reviews the incidents of the last few weeks leading to a condemnation of the cult by the Edah Haredit: A 16-year-old … [Read more...]

Yediot Gives Platform to Shal-Wearers

Today's Yediot Aharonit "24 Hours" magazine has an "exclusive" letter from a 42-year-old cult member. The anonymous author sent it to a neighbor, whose husband delivered it to Yediot with the author's knowledge. The letter may be original and unpublished, but plenty of similar material is widely … [Read more...]

Is Hyper-Modesty about Female Empowerment?

NRG published a story about a pamphlet distributed to homes in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, urging women to wear shalim, or cloaks. If you have a copy of the pamphlet, please let me know. According to the pamphlet, the purpose of wearing a shal is "to cover the outline and shape of the body and … [Read more...]

Winter Fashion Retrospective, 2011

A while back, my daughter asked me to take her shopping. I told her I would take her on one condition—that she find out from her friends the best place to go. So one rainy afternoon we set out around 3:45, avoiding traffic, to the Segula intersection in Petach Tikva to H. Fashions. So what do you … [Read more...]

Interview with “Mother Taliban”

Channel 2's "360" program broadcast Yifat Erlich's prison interview with Bruria Keren. For some reason she called her Rabbanit M.—I don't know where the M comes from. Her husband isn't a rabbi, but it is common for female teachers to be known as Rabbanit. Of course the title adds to the … [Read more...]

Video: Undercover Reporter Infiltrates “Taliban Women”

Channel Two's investigative program, 360, broadcast a report about what they called the —œTaliban women.— Yifat Erlich (of Megeirot fame—she's graduated from Makor Rishon newspaper to TV) went undercover to infiltrate the group and interview their leader, Malka Benizri. The report claims that … [Read more...]

Update: Edah Claims to Object to Shawls, Poster False

Update: According to comments on the Kikar Shabbat website, the date of the posters recommending shawls for all wmoen is from six years ago. Someone must have reprinted and posted them. The Edah Haredit claims they are not behind the current poster. They claim to have considered prohibiting … [Read more...]

Hyper-Tzniut Fashions for Young Girls

Hyper-Tzniut at the Jerusalem Zoo While the face-covering phenomenon seems to have died down, shalim, capes or cloaks worn over the shoulders to disguise the contour of the  body, are still popular. I saw many women in shalim during our visit to the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem, along with the two … [Read more...]

More on Hyper-tzniut: Shawl-Wearer Spotted in Borough Park

When I started this blog I never dreamed I would write so much about clothes and tzniut. But since I learned about hyper-tzniut, I've become a bit obsessed with the topic. Y-Love from Jewlicious spotted a super-modest woman in Borough Park: For the first time, I saw one of the followers of veil … [Read more...]