Jerusalem Taliban Women – A Self-Inflicted Bondage

Somewhere, at some time, someone thought that observant Jewish women should be covered from head to toe, denied the pleasure of breathing fresh air, clearly seeing where they’re walking and being relegated to an unseen, unheard class of extremist zombies. While that, in and of itself, is distressing enough, the real shock, in all of it, is that some women would actually agree to be inflicted with this kind of mindless bondage which erases their visual presence from society.

This horrific phenomenon was showcased as “the picture of the week” in Friday’s magazine section of the Jerusalem Post, reminding us of the type of fanatical extremism which has managed to invade our culture in the name of zealous modesty, which borders on the edge of exaggerated purity to the point of the unnatural.

These sightings, however, are not new. As someone who worked close to the ultra-orthodox section of Geula and Mea She’arim, I often saw these women who, apparently, were not convinced that a full-length dress, covered head and cape were enough to deter the wandering eyes of some renegade man who may have, heaven forbid, looked upon them with lust. No, to be on the safe side, they had to completely and hermetically hide themselves under the black covering of a full-on burqa, meant to blot out their complete stature from the eyes of any, including other women.

But the puzzling question is why would anyone relent to this kind of self-inflicted punishment or feel that anything less than a full drape would be acceptable or pleasing to the Almighty who, as far as I know, never commanded such a thing? And based on what holy texts are these women compelled to even go that route?

This sect, or as some call it – a cult, was previously reported by Times of Israel staff on September 4, 2018, when an investigation was actually opened involving “two mothers who were members of the ‘Taliban-style’ extremist Jewish sect, arrested on suspicion of abducting their children from legal custody as well as child neglect.”

The report went on to say that, per Walla News, “adherents believe that this is the way women dressed in ancient times.” But this brand of Haredi Judaism, which seems to be concentrated in Israel, has managed to successfully convince some women that in order to be authentically devout, they must adhere to this oppressive dress code. It’s no small wonder that many of these women are said to rarely leave their house and, when they do, are accompanied by other family members.

The bizarre dress code, which seems to have begun sometime around 2008, is said to have been initiated by a female Israeli religious leader named Bruria Keren who, herself, dons several layers of clothing in order to observe what she believes to be the only suitable level of modesty which attests to her aspiration of holiness.  Ironically, the several hundred participants, who dress in a similar fashion, are reported to have mostly come from secular backgrounds.

But it should be noted that Bruria Keren, similar to other individuals who are the creators of unbalanced behavioral practices, has, herself been incarcerated as well as hospitalized for her refusal to eat. The mother of 12, served a four-year sentence for “abusing her children, including one who was disabled,” (www.amotherinisrael.com, “Hyper-Modest Abusive Mother of 12 Released, 6/15/12). In fact, one of Keren’s daughters refers to her mother as having been the victim of a “lack of mental health.”

So how is it that Keren’s devotees are unable to recognize abnormal and unreasonable behavior, which manifests itself both in the insane demand of denying yourself personhood and the deserved respect of being able to walk down the street as any other human being?

By her form of logic, anyone who commits a sexual crime must have been encouraged to do so by an insufficiently covered woman whose exposed body part, be it an ankle or a finger, became the subject of uncontrollable lust, leading to the offense.

In her mind, there is no provision for men to be accountable for their inappropriate urges or impulses. Apparently, she believes that they are so weak, that women must help them not commit such crimes. Hence, they must agree to become the ultimate sacrifice of freedom by doing the unthinkable and cutting themselves off from the world in order to allow men to be the righteous citizens they could not otherwise be.

I’m sorry, but someone needs to call this what it is – mental illness! It neither reflects holiness, purity, righteousness nor any form of godliness which has its basis in the bible from which Judaism ultimately arose.

Of course, showcasing such pictures, which evoke such a highly-charged emotional response, is the job of any good photographic journalist, but as someone put it, the exaggeration of covering up one’s self from head to toe, actually ends up calling more attention to one’s self than if they were wearing a revealing garment. Each day, we all see women who, perhaps, go too far in exposing more of themselves than we would like to see, but it pales in comparison to actually spotting a woman who looks as if she would more likely fit into a Kabul backdrop.

That sight grabs the attention of everyone, causing their jaws to drop while they stare, both riveted and repelled at the same time. It defies all reason, all sanity and all logic, causing us to wonder why anyone, in their right mind, would agree to live their life under such self-imposed oppression and subjugation. It is more than sad.  It is a horrendous malady, in our midst, which needs to be rejected by all sane Jews no matter what their persuasion.

The reality is that no one can save another from their evil intents and actions by covering themselves from head to toe, and paying the heavy price of being denied the God-given freedom to enjoy the air which He gave us to breathe. Doing so will not make us more worthy. If anything, it shows a real contempt for the beauty of nature with which we have been endowed by a Creator who lovingly made us to be both seen and heard!

Would that these women love themselves as much as He loves them!