Hypocrisy

Just a week after the Ami published the strongest condemnations and distortions of any Haredi print media against the usage of Nazi imagery in by Kanoim in Israel, the magazine’s own cover photo was a white house decorated with swastikas and Nazi storm-troopers marching in front of it. Abraham Foxman, ADL, Directory saw this as illustrating that the “White House or America is… overrun by Nazis and neo-Nazis…”

The Editor subsequently acknowledged that it “may have been a poor choice.” He added that cover generated some complaints, but “I would not call it a storm… I wouldn’t say there was an uproar.” His only “regret” is for “putting that in this week’s issue,” right after the uproar in Israel, and he only allowed that he “may apologize.”

Rabbi Avi Sharfran, director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America and a regular contributor to the magazine, offered stronger wording. He emailed The Jewish Week that he’s “appalled” by the cover, adding that “the image itself was offensive. I told the editors so, and they agree it was a bad judgment.”

Until I haven’t seen this Jewish Week story, I haven’t noticed the photo. In part, it is an indication of how not-important and not-looked upon this magazine is, but it is also an indication that it depends who uses the Nazi imagery. There is a different standard for Kanoim, and a different standard for all the rest.

And do anybody believe that an editor of a magazine whose last week’s main issue was Nazi imagery, would not realize how sensitive and inappropriate it is to print a swastika-decorated White House? The only excuse I have for him, is that he feels that the need to get some publicity with the hope that it will increase circulation, is more important  than defending religious rights in Israel.

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