Jerusalem, July 30: Jewish ultra-Orthodox groups in Jerusalem issued a religious edict calling upon women to cover their bodies and hair in order to be cleared of their sins.
Posters promoting the new dress code were spotted in the areas of Jerusalem pre-dominantly inhabited by the Haredim community, ultra-conservative Jews known for their extremist views, the Israeli daily Maariv reported.
Women, the posters said, have to wear clothes that are neither tight nor transparent. The clothes have to be black in order to preserve women’s modesty and allow them to be cleared of sins. The hair has to be covered as well.
Violating those orders, the posters warned, is bound to have grave consequences since this means disobeying the teachings of the Torah.
The orthodox groups who issued the edict called upon stores to stop buying short skirts, bathing suits, and colorful outfit. The stores ignored the warnings despite the fact that they were previously attacked by ultra-Orthodox Jews and had their shop windows smashed.
The dress code promoted by these groups is not new to the Haredim community, yet few women were actually abiding by those instructions.
Other posters warned women of using cell phones in public places and vowed to penalize women who violated the rule.
The new laws were met with protest by several religious groups who described them as extremist and argued that imposing this strict dress code is not part of Judaism.
Rabbis protest dress code
“The Rabbis told women to be beautiful all the time even at the time when they are prohibited from having sex with their husbands.”
Rav Avraham YosefRav Avraham Yosef, the Chief Rabbi of the city of Holon, said women should be modest but they are not obliged to wear clothes like those promoted by extremist groups.
“The Rabbis told women to be beautiful all the time even at the time when they are prohibited from having sex with their husbands,” he told Maariv.
Haredi groups have issued a series of controversial laws and some of them were put into effect like dedicating single-sex buses for their community.
The decision triggered demonstrations against the Ministry of Transportation in March and thousands held placards that read “Israel is not Tehran.”
Last month, a group of 25 Haredi Jews attacked a postal office demanding the removal of plasma screens that show news updates deemed “obscene.”
“Ultra-Orthodox groups are creating a new Taliban in Jerusalem,” wrote Maariv.
-Agencies