I thought that story of the yiddishe newspaper Di Tzeitung was a non-story. So they edited Hillary Clinton out of the photo, big deal. It is nothing new. Hamodia and Yated do it all the time, as do all (or at least many) newspapers associated with the haredi community. And I am sure this is not the first time Hillary was edited out of a haredi newspaper. And I don't think it makes a difference that the White House released the photo with a disclaimer that it should not be edited.

To me it seemed like this was one of those automatic stories. They do something automatic, and the media response is automatic. An automatic story, to me is no not a story. It is boring, it is completely expected and anticipated, and not really newsworthy.

I was very surprised how much press time this story has gotten. So much so that Dir Tzeitung had to issue a statement apologizing for what they did.

Dir Tzeitung's statement, which I saw on a few websites but I could not find the original, reads:

The White House released a picture showing the President following “live” the events in the apprehension of Osama Bin Laden, last week Sunday. Also present in the Situation Room were various high-ranking government and military officials. Our photo editor realized the significance of this historic moment, and published the picture, but in his haste he did not read the “fine print” that accompanied the picture, forbidding any changes. We should not have published the altered picture, and we have conveyed our regrets and apologies to the White House and to the State Department.The allegations that religious Jews denigrate women or do not respect women in public office, is a malicious slander and libel. The current Secretary of State, the Honorable Hillary R. Clinton, was a Senator representing New York State with great distinction 8 years. She won overwhelming majorities in the Orthodox Jewish communities in her initial campaign in ‘00, and when she was re-elected in ‘06, because the religious community appreciated her unique capabilities and compassion to all communities. The Jewish religion does not allow for discrimination based on gender, race, etc.


We respect all government officials. We even have special prayers for the welfare of our Government and the government leaders, and there is no mention of gender in such prayers.


All Government employees are sworn into office, promising adherence to the Constitution, and our Constitution attests to our greatness as a nation that is a light beacon to the entire world. The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. (See below.) That has precedence even to our cherished freedom of the press! In accord with our religious beliefs, we do not publish photos of women, which in no way relegates them to a lower status. Publishing a newspaper is a big responsibility, and our policies are guided by a Rabbinical Board. Because of laws of modesty, we are not allowed to publish pictures of women, and we regret if this gives an impression of disparaging to women, which is certainly never our intention. We apologize if this was seen as offensive.


We are proud Americans of the Jewish faith, and there is no conflict in that, and we will with the help of the Almighty continue as law-abiding citizens, in this great country of our’s, until the ultimate redemption.

I found this quote particularly interesting:

We respect all government officials. We even have special prayers for the welfare of our Government and the government leaders, and there is no mention of gender in such prayers

Wait for the storm when  the White House finds out that the people of Dir Tzeitung's community don't even say the prayer for the welfare of the government and the government leaders!

The story even hit CNN: