Porn, Art Or Journalism?

Is a photographer’s photo of a naked Ethiopian woman immersing in a mikva kosher? And was the photographer within his rights to post that naked picture online?

The immersion photograph by Ziv Koren, blurred

Porn, Art Or Journalism?
Is a photographer’s photo of a naked Ethiopian woman immersing in a mikva kosher? And was the photographer within his rights to post that naked picture online?
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Art, journalism or a gross invasion of privacy?

According to Ha’aretz, in 2006 Ziv Koren, the husband of Israeli fashion model Galit Gutman and an internationally known award winning Israeli photojournalist, went to Ethiopia and documented the immigration of a Falash Mura family to Israel. Koren shot pictures there, on the flight to Israel and at the absorption center where the family lived.

Koren allowed the Jewish Agency to use forty of the photographs in a campaign and exhibition to raise funds for Falash Mura absorption, but the Jewish Agency stressed that the rights to all the pictures are owned by Koren. It also stressed that some of the photographs Koren took were not developed at that time.

Why these points are important, and why it was also important for the Jewish Agency to stress that it was not in charge of that absorption center until 2011, will become apparent in a moment.

Koren considers himself to be a documentarian, and he works very hard to capture details and private moments others might miss or avoid.

One of the things Falash Mura do after arrival in Israel is formally convert to Judaism. Part of that conversion process involves immersing in a mikva, a ritual bath. And unlike the fundamentalist Christian baptisms you may have seen on television, immersion in a mikva is done without any clothes on.

Koren wanted to document that process. So he went into the mikva with a young Falash Mura woman and took pictures – pictures in which she was wearing no clothes, pictures in which she was completely naked.

We don’t know whether the woman freely consented. We don’t know if she understood what Koren was doing.

But we do know that more than five years later, Koren posted one of those nude pictures on his Facebook page, sparking outrage. After waves of criticism and even threats, Koren removed the photograph yesterday morning, claiming he did so because he was worried about the woman’s security.

But Koren refused to apologize for taking the photograph or for posting it online, telling Ha’aretz that while these types of photographs might be provocative to some, they aren’t to others, and claiming that he took the photograph out of journalistic integrity.

"All the furious reactions and threats don't frighten me," Koren said. "I took the photo down after I understood that it could harm the woman. Let's put everything into proportion, we live in a democratic country where you can morally assess these things more than once. This whole thing kind of went out of control. I'm a documentarian whose whole life revolves around things that are on the edge."

"Respect for human beings is more important than any piece of art or documentation," a Jewish Agency spokesperson said in response.

Why Koren would think that posting a naked photograph online where millions of people could see it of a woman who had just been taken from a very primitive third world country to a modern first world state, who was almost certainly confused and struggling to adapt, and who almost certainly lacked the informed ability to consent, wouldn’t harm that woman is an open question that only Koren can answer.

Comments

[Steven W]

Who was the rabbi in charge of the conversion and why did he allow a stranger to the conversion process into the mikvah?

[Yonina]

My friend (not Ethiopian) converted to Judaism in Israel and she wore this white garment in the mikva because rabbis came in to witness it...and I thought that was strange. Perhaps because it's a giyor l'chumra no witnesses are needed? At any rate, I agree that it was inappropriate and disrespectful.

[David]

Grossly inappropriate and disrespectful, even if the photograph had consent. As mentioned above, if it was a kosher miklvah the Rabbi in charge and the female mikvah attendant (seemingly visible on the left) should not have allowed this.

[David]

err...photographer not photograph...

[crooked]

chiloni israelis .... cant trust em. cant trust em one bit i say.

[ultra haredi lite]

Ugly mikvah.

[Shoshi]

My friend (not Ethiopian) converted to Judaism in Israel and she wore this white garment in the mikva because rabbis came in to witness it...and I thought that was strange. Perhaps because it's a giyor l'chumra no witnesses are needed? At any rate, I agree that it was inappropriate and disrespectful.

Posted by: Yonina | February 15, 2012 at 02:27 AM

Although immersion is usually done in the nude (to be on the "safe side"), it is halachically permissible to immerse with a garment that allows the water to flow in and touch all the skin. Some batei dinim follow that opinion, allowing use of a sheet wrapped around the person or a garment such as you describe, for the very reason that the beit din does have to visually verify the immersion.

In cases where it is done without clothing, the beit din usually stands outside the room, just peeking in while the woman is under water. Once I was discussing this with a woman who had converted, and she said, "They didn't look in while I was immersing!" To which her husband said, "Yes they did." (He had been with the rabbis in the next room, apparently.) And the woman was totally mortified.

[Shoshi]

Ugly mikvah.

Posted by: ultra haredi lite | February 15, 2012 at 06:10 AM

What--you don't like cinderblock and corrugated steel?

[Adam Neira]

The taking of and the publication of the photo are inappropriate for two main reasons.

(1) The immersion into a mikveh for conversion has an element of sacredness to it, so objectifying the process via a photograph cheapens what should be a private thing between the convert and G-d.

(2) A naked body is best displayed in private to one's self or one's loved one. Spencer Tunick like art will never be looked on in years to come as classic work.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Why pixilate the picture? Ethiopian women are beautiful, and this is not Mishpacha Magazine ;)

[KJ]

I vote porn. It is no different than taking a picture of a woman getting out of a bathtub - unless you view that as art too.

When it comes down to it, art or porn is in the eye of the beholder.

[Maskil]

I took the photo down after I understood that it could harm the woman.

What, harm the woman who consented? Or is this an admission that she surely did not understand the nature of this "documentation" of the event?

This guy stanks of Tel-Aviv-leftist-elitist smugness and biggotry.

[Malka Gittel]

I see a well-taken documentary photograph. What I find repulsive is the threats made because of her being in it. Supposedly civilised people should be beyond such things.

It is most definitely not pornographic unless you are one of those Haredim who can only think of sex any time they see anything female. It wasn't taken to be sexual, and I don't see what about it is automatically sexual unless your mind is in the gutter.

[What the what?]

That water is the only thing that's dirty in that picture. Who in their right mind would dunk in that filth?

[Eli]

Well, I know it when I see it, and this ain't porn.
Shmarya, please post real porn!

[Eli]

Although it was kinda creative of Shmarya to boost his search-engine ranking among haredi websurfers by using the words "porn" and "mikvah" in the same post...

[Mikal W. Grass]

a woman who had just been taken from a very primitive third world country to a modern first world state.......

and then in turn forced to undergo a primitive ritual in the first world country.

Grow up people. Stop presuming that everyone from Ethiopia is primitive; many "third world" countries and societies have strict codes of conduct regarding the human body, etc. Granted they might not be attuned to first world society but that in no way presumes that they lacked consent to be photographed. Your attitudes smack of paternalism and are extremely condescending towards Ethiopians.

Many of the so called Gedolim and Chachamim in today's Charedi world could be accused of primitive thinking and behaviour, even though they live in the "first world."

[KJ]

I am into art, is there a link to a larger image, say poster sized, for my bedroom?

and I don't see what about it is automatically sexual unless your mind is in the gutter.

Posted by: Malka Gittel | February 15, 2012 at 08:16 AM

Even without your posting your name. I would assume you are female...

[Mamzer HaKodesh]

Totally unnacceptable. And honestly, I suspect that if the immmersing woman had been white-skinned, the photographer would have never dared post it in the first place.

I don't think nudity is wrong, but I do think objectification is wrong, and one of the tools of objectification in a patriarchal society is hypersexualizing the "other". I think many people know that taking or looking at photographs of naked people who have not consented to it is wrong, but they suspend this understanding when they look at pictures of naked people from other cultures, particularly when Whites are looking at those with brown skin (although it can go any way, and it is never acceptable at any time regardless of skin color).

I think the question is - would the photographer have posted the picture if the woman was white-skinned? Why or why not? Then you'll have your answer.

[Eli]

Cool. If you now Google "haredi mikvah porn"' this post on FM now comes us a hit on the first page.

[Maskil]

Eli, why were you googling it to begin with?

[KJ]

Cool. If you now Google "haredi mikvah porn"' this post on FM now comes us a hit on the first page.

Posted by: Eli | February 15, 2012 at 10:39 AM

We're Number One!

Lets savor the moment.

[Eli]

"Eli, why were you....?"
Looking for "art" and "journalism", obviously!

[Josh]

The immersion photograph by Ziv Koren, blurred

Blurred! Why? Have the haredim manipulated the picture? Why would one blur a work of art?

[rebitzman]

Porn, Art Or Journalism?

Let's go with marketing

[Anon]

I have been at conversions on a Bet Din.

When we are in the room, the convert is in the water and she is completely covered.

We talk with her and ask her questions.

In front of us she slides into the water and we see her hair go under.

We leave the room immediately and she releases the white garment she is wearing.

We have witnessed her under the water.

Only the mikvah attendent sees any nakedness.

The idea that anyone not on the Bet Din would be in the room is absurd.

The idea that the 3 members of the Bet Din see her naked is absurd.

Something here - and not the conversion - is not kosher.

[Malka Gittel]

Race? I know she's Ethiopian because I am told so. On my monitor, however, she could be a woman with a deep tan; she's not clearly any particular race without facial features to assist in establishing it.

The nude body is not always sexual, especially in medicine and in journalism. As a documentary photograph I don't see anything erotic about it. Should it have been taken? I can't answer that. But I see it as a photograph of a step in a process, not as objectification.

[abcdef]

Shmarya says: "...a woman who had just been taken from a very primitive third world country to a modern first world state, who was almost certainly confused and struggling to adapt, and who almost certainly lacked the informed ability to consent..."

And here Shmarya's racism comes out. Shmarya thinks that the poor, primitive, confused, third world Negress of course wouldn't have any idea what the white man's small machine that "makes flashes like lightning" is.

Of course she was way too primitive and stupid to know that the "lightening box" was actually taking an "automatic painting" of her which could be seen later by other people. No way. She's way too primitive to have understood.

Shmarya thinks that the dumb Negress is so primitive and stupid that even had she been explained what a camera does, just like an underage minor is considered to be unable to give informed consent, there's no way the stupid Negress could actually have had the maturity to consent. In Shmarya's own words: "[she] almost certainly lacked the informed ability to consent"

And there we have Shmarya's real opinion on the Ethiopians!

[BiF]

Porn, Art Or Journalism?

Porn? Definitely not.

Art? These days a bowel movement shaped like the Nike swoosh can pass for art.

Journalism - sure, if violating a person's basic rights are considered journalism then my answer is C.

[abcdef]

"...Art? These days a bowel movement shaped like the Nike swoosh can pass for art..."

Posted by: BiF | February 15, 2012 at 01:31 PM

Haha! So true!

[Shmarya]

And there we have Shmarya's real opinion on the Ethiopians!

Posted by: abcdef | February 15, 2012 at 01:15 PM

Please.

You're so overwhelmingly ignorant and so caught up in your rabid desire to smear me that you embarrass yourself.

Ethiopian Jews from rural areas have little to no understanding of modernity. They lived without TVs, radios and even without newspapers.

And for the most part, they are extremely poor, which gave them even less access to things like cameras.

They're brought from Ethiopia to Israel and are in the process of conversion.

They do what their teachers and authority figures tell them.

Koren was an authority figure to them.

It is highly unlikely that woman understood what might be done with the photos, that she could refuse without penalty, or that there is something called the Internet where I can post a picture now and millions of people can see it within minutes.

Many Ethiopian Jews who came on Operation Moses had to be taught what a toilet is, how indoor plumbing works, what a telephone is and how to use one.

Most had never seen an airplane until their rescue flight. Some had never seen an automobile.

This doesn't make them stupid.

You on the other hand are.

Now toddle off, little man. Puff out your chest and convince yourself that you're very smart.

Because I guarantee you, no one else will ever try to convince you of that.

[anuran]

Did he have the woman's permission?
Does he have a signed model release?
No? Screw him. Hope he gets taken to the cleaners in an enormous lawsuit.

[Shmarya]

Something here - and not the conversion - is not kosher.

Posted by: Anon | February 15, 2012 at 12:33 PM

Maybe this was a regular monthly mikva immersion rather than the conversion immersion.

Or it could be that the rabbis allowed Koren to take the picture BEFORE the woman fully immersed – meaning she was not yet converted. They could then say that modesty law didn't yet apply to her. And they could also say something far worse, but I hope that I'm wrong.

[Mikal W. Grass]

Go to Mr. Koren's website to look at his photos. Click on the one titled something like Jessica Story. Scroll down to the 9th photo. Some would think that photo is pornographic, and some would say that it is par for the course in that community.

[Gentile Lover]

This is classic: The picture is blurred out because it is - what? Inappropriate on a blog that makes pornography look like Dr. Suess? HaHa!

[danny]

BiF: "...Art? These days a bowel movement shaped like the Nike swoosh can pass for art..."

You've seen my latest work!!!

[Sacramentomike]

Leviticus 18:17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter... what satanic practice is this which violates a mitzvot? Who is the demonic rabbi servant of satan who uncovered the nakedness of a woman?

[Litvish]

It is important that all mikvas have cameras to monitor all participants so that they will not steal the water.

This also will allow bokherim who are not current being raped along with rabbonim, g'dolei hador who are not totally senile, teachers, and others in the frum community, to masturbate from the comfort of their shtenders.

[Dave]

I agree completely with Mamzer Hakodesh on this one.
This photographer was totally despicable and racist, and totally violated the woman's privacy.

[KJ]

It is important that all mikvas have cameras to monitor all participants so that they will not steal the water.

No, all mikvahs need to have cameras to record all the works of art. At the end of every day the images should be posted on the web.

[iiiiiiiiiih]

"Posted by: Litvish | February 15, 2012 at 06:47 PM"

The thought excites you, doesn't it. Faggot!

[Yona Hall]

This may not be porn,but it is taking advantage of a woman who barely knew what was going on,and just wanted to get it over with.

I know because that is how I felt in the mikveh in Jerusalem,and I am an educated African-American giyoret.Everything was in Hebrew and I was concentrating to understand all the questions the Rabbi's were asking.

I am terrified of water and was praying I could correctly dunk the three times without popping up causing me to have to undergo more immersions!

They had me in a dress and I was concerned that this wasn't kosher.I guess the Rabbi's saw my head go under,but I couldn't tell you a thing,because after I emerged,I broke down and cried!

I'd been through so much and had been told by the American Rabbi that represented me before the beit Hadin,that the Jerusalem Rabbinute had refused to convert a Black American the year before me and he had converted her back in the States.

All I wanted was to get through it.I can't imagine what that Ethiopian woman was thinking,but I'm sure she didn't know that no one except the mikveh lady should have seen her naked.

It feels like such a violation,I can't expect anyone to understand unless you have gone through the process.It was 30 years ago for me and it will always be the most special moment in my life.

[KJ]

This may not be porn,but it is taking advantage of a woman who barely knew what was going on,and just wanted to get it over with.

I think the sickest part of the posted story is that probably the photographer told that frightened lady they taking her picture was part of the mikvah procedure. To me that makes it porn. Unless he hid behind a curtain and snuck a picture which would also make it porn.

[Litvish]

Posted by: iiiiiiiiiih | February 16, 2012 at 01:00 AM
=====

And what, pray tell, are you doing trolling the net at 1 am?

[Chrissakes - a.k.a. Nigritude U.]

As a documentarian in a democratic society, I need to install a hidden webcam in the Koren Family bathroom. My Facebook friends need this content.

[Technical Convert]

As someone who needed to do a "technical conversion" because my fiance asked a shaila of a Brisker rav who believed that if the father isn't Jewish than the child isn't Jewish (a minority opinion) I can tell you that the mikvah process was the most humiliating thing that ever happened to me.

I too was given a white garment (a sheet with a hole cut out for your head). The sheet is supposed to spread out on the surface of the water as you dunk under so that the 3 male witnesses can't see your naked body. Well, I was told to dunk under about 8 times. Each time the rabbis whispered and conferred and asked me to dunk again - also, they asked me all the questions while I was in the water, wearing the sheet, and waiting to dunk. It was all very intimidating and embarrassing.

After all that dunking in the sheet, the rabbis told me that they weren't sure if the dunks were kosher, and that I should remove the sheet while in the water, and hand it to the mikvah lady. I was stunned and horrified. Being in the sheet was bad enough, but now to be naked too?!! I knew that if I didn't do it, I wouldn't be considered a kosher Jew and also, no rabbi in my community would marry us.

I removed the sheet, the rabbis were still in the room, they told me to dunk and I did while they looked down at me. They pronounced the conversion kosher and left the room. As the mikvah lady helped me into a robe, she said, "I give you a lot of credit. I could have NEVER done that!"

I stayed in the dressing room for at least 20 minutes, hoping to give the rabbis enough time to leave because I never wanted to see any of them again. I came out to the lobby only to find all of them sitting there waiting for me to say mazel tov, I guess. I was mortified! I mumbled thanks and quickly left.

That experience left me scarred and hating the mikvah from that time forward. We never asked a shailah from that rav again. Had someone taken a photograph of me and plastered it in a magazine, I think I would have slit my wrists.