Five Towns Orthodox Newspaper Photoshops Photo Of Teens

The Five Towns Jewish Times, owned by Larry Gordon, who is from a Chabad family, photoshops a photo of local teens, lengthening skirts and sleeves to make the photo "tzniut."

 

The actual photo, published by the Jewish Star, without photoshopping:

The haredi leaning Five Towns Jewish Times shows that it is firmly in the camp of haredi newspapers that regularly alter photos to make them "modest," to remove women entirely, or to try to alter history.

Note the  artificially lengthened skirts and sleeves:

[Hat Tip: Heshy Fried.]

Comments

[Jill]

Note the artificially lengthened skirts and sleeves

This has got to be illegal! Someone should report this to the authorities. Some sort of copyright infringements must have been violated. Enough is enough!

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

I'm surprised they didn't blot out the Israeli flag.

[Maskil]

I don't know when this happened, because I worked night shifts for over a year. But now I'm seeing knee length skirts optional for both non-hasidic haredim and Chabad as well as regular datim. It is even more common (about 50%, give or take) than sleeves that do not reach the elbow.

Covering the knees as a part of Orthodox attire for women, at least here in Jerusalem, is over.

[Hershel Ostropoloyer]

Look on the bright side, kinderlach. They might soon start photoshopping in the late Rebbe standing with the kids, shaking the boys' hands.

[Sarek]

Phew! Thanks be to God that someone is looking out for us. I don't know what would have happened to me if I had (gasp) accidentally seen the "before" picture. I might have undergone spontaneous human combustion.

/sarcasm off

[SkepticalYid]

I'm surpIsed they dIdnt lengthen the sleeves as well.

[Solly]

I figured there would be a Chabad connection. I wouldn't be surprised if the directive came directly from 770 higher echelons

[Jill]

The Jewish Star should be ashamed of themselves. They have identified all the slutty five towns girls for all to see. I am assuming that they are HAFTR girls not HALB or TAG ones.

[John]

What's the big deal you stupid shmarya dumb mother ficker. You make a big issue out of anything you stupid asshole. I hope your computer drops on ur head and wakes ur stupid ass up. You piece of shit.

[John]

Jill u dumb cunt how is this illegal?? You stupid bitch stay in the kitchen.

[John]

Biggest mistake was that shymaras mother didn't get an ao oration after she got raped by his Nigger dad.

[John]

That's an abortion sorry for typo

[jancsibacsi]

John-Hey you lowlife trash shut youre stupid mouth

[spacedout BT]

Larry is not in any way connected to the Chabad movement rather this is a business decision he made since other US Torah newspapers don't even print pictures of women. You can ask Larry how he feels about his brother David's decision to host charlatan and rapist Avraham Mondrowtiz on his now-defunct WEVD FM radio show "Evening Voice of Jewry in NY" which ran in the early 90's. David Gordon also gave radio time to extremist wacko Victor Vancier- later incarcerated for violent conspiracy. Larry and Dave- yep! $$$$ over good taste and judgement every time.

[SML]

That's an abortion sorry for typo

Right. Sure. The typo is all that kept your ignorant and obscene rants from qualifying as carefully considered discourse. You've defined a new low for this forum which is no mean feat. Congrats -

[spacedout BT]

Sorry- I meant the early 80's!

[John]

Jacs suck a cock u scumbag! And SML(small male labido) go fuck ur mom!

[rebitzman]

Jill u dumb cunt how is this illegal?? You stupid bitch stay in the kitchen.

Posted by: John | July 29, 2012 at 03:40 PM

Biggest mistake was that shymaras mother didn't get an ao oration after she got raped by his Nigger dad.

Posted by: John | July 29, 2012 at 03:46 PM

That's an abortion sorry for typo

Posted by: John | July 29, 2012 at 03:47 PM

What an advertisement: You too can be ultra religious and talk to and about people like this.

[cynic]

Who the fuck cares. Seriously get a life. Why it's this newsworthy

[John]

Rebitzman I'm not orthdox asshole but I respect them not like u scumbags looking to putvthem down so fuck u too!

[John]

Word up cynic. That what I mean he looks to put down everything Jews do that asshole. He is for sure an Eriv Rav!!!

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

John, of course you're not orthodox.

[John]

Woolsilk and of course ur mom didn't cheat on ur dad;)

[Abracadabra]

The 5TJT is a little confused and doesn't quite know where they stand, let alone where the lines are drawn in the Hareidi sand. They are trying to cater to Hareidim, but Larry Gordon doesn't seem to realize that Hareidim, even in the Five Towns and Far Rockaway, are against the State of Israel and would never send their kids to a Knesset meeting, let alone be proud of it if their kids would go. OTOH the Modern Orthodox ARE highly supportive of the State of Israel and ARE sending their kids to Knesset meetings. But the Modern Orthodox girls are not covering their knees and elbows or dressing like Hareidim. So what does the editor do? Instead of just reporting on the event, and leaving out the picture, they do what all good Hareidim do - lie - by photoshopping the picture.

The kids in the picture are either laughing seeing themselves with long sleeves and long skirts, or they were just taught a mighty fine lesson in how Hareidim deal with all of history that doesn't fit into their narrow worldview. They lie about it and change it in order to fit that darn round peg into their little square hole.

[Jack]

Is the Five Town Jewish Times a Haredi paper?

[Jill]

The Five Towns Jewish Times, owned by Larry Gordon, who is from a Chabad family

Your point please?

[Jack]

The Five Towns Jewish Times, owned by Larry Gordon, who is from a Chabad family

Your point please?

Posted by: Jill | July 29, 2012 at 04:15 PM

The point is that this is part of a Chabad conspiracy!

[jancsibacsi]

Ra's Al Gahul-Shooting youre mindless moronic mouth of again, i told you ver geharget.

[jay]

the fact that theyre touching isnt tznius either

[Eli, what me messiah?]

John,
you are the most eloquent troll who has recently graced these pages. My hat is off to you, sir. Nothing but admiration from me for your keen sense of humor and terse phrasing. And I assure you my reason for saying that has nothing do to with the fact that I'm worried you may be violating parole and carrying a gun....

[Abracadabra]

That's an abortion sorry for typo

How good of you to apologize.

We were all so bothered by your little typo, that we simply overlooked your use of crude profanity and indiscriminate insults towards those with whom you disagree.

[Elisheva]

I'm surprised they still showed a picture of boys and girls mingling together. Who knows what allowing teenage boys and girls to be in the same room together could lead to? Mixed dancing maybe! The HORROR!

[netflix]

LG is Charedi and this paper caters to a Charedi black hat community. I guess this should be expected from them, at least be happy he's still publishing pictures of girls and women.

[Jill]

The Five town Jewish Times is a chabad paper and is published by the Lubavitch movement.

[A. Nuran]

Goes against every principle of journalism

[SMR]

Is the Five Town Jewish Times a Haredi paper?

Posted by: Jack | July 29, 2012 at 04:12 PM

Not only is it a Haredi paper it is a Chabad paper! Can't get more Haredi than that!

[Monseymaidel]

the point is that photoshopping the photo is absurd. Truly absurd. let's stop the name calling and vitriol to focus on the simple point of the post.

for all the haters: no obligation to visit FM. Don't bother, do yourself a favor. (your internist who monitors your blood pressure will agree!)

[def gordon is chabad bc he altered the pic .evidence of fraud]

the teens look decent in the first picture . no need to alter .

yes, def there is a chabad connection in this pic , bc there is fraud = alteration .

everyone should believe it , with no doubt

to spaceoutBT,

if shmarya says that gordon is from a chabad family, therefore chabad himself,
then it's true . take it for granted .
netflix confirmed it .

shmarya does not lie , like the haredi do .

[def gordon is chabad bc he altered the pic .evidence of fraud]

to' john ',

if you don't like 'failedmessiah' ,

get the hell out of this site .

[def gordon is chabad bc he altered the pic .evidence of fraud]

jill is right . the five towns jewish times is chabad , therefore with no doubt , gordon frauded .

[5 Towns Fan]

1. No big deal, they serve a frum community and showed some respect to the community.

2. It is only illegal when its a government picture, like the Famous Hillary picture that was altered, otherwise its fine.

3. Gordon might have grown up in crown heights, but in no way would i consider him a Chabbad guy anymore.

[Steven]

They should have gone all the way and put kippot and tzitzit on the guys.

[John]

Symura is a dick

[SML]

I'm wondering what it takes - how much obscenely ignorant ranting - it takes for a troll to be blocked from posting here?

[Jill]

I wonder what is worse, photoshopping a picture or deleting a post that you don't agree with. I noticed posts appearing here and then disappearing.

[netflix]

JOHN, go shave your beard off and start acting outwardly like the lowlife coward you really are.

[Fleishike Kishke]

The haredi mind can't grasp the ethics of photo journalism. When a newspaper presents a picture, people have an expectation that the image depicts events as they are. If the haredi wishes to use a picture that is not up to its standards of zniut, and they photoshop, they ought to put a little note stating what they've done. But the haredi mind has atrophied to the point where such 'profound' concepts are beyond their grasp.

[dh]

Slow down John. I'm still trying to figure out Smura being a ficker.

[BibleBeltJew]

dh: your comment made me laugh, and that's difficult on this horrible day. Howz everyone's fast going? Well, we hope.

[maven]

Oh look, some 13 year old moron got access to his mommy's computer and is typing in naughty words. "John", when your mommy sees what you wrote, you will be in trouble!

[dh]

Wellll, I'm not fasting but I sure am lamenting. Thnx for asking.

[David]

They might soon start photoshopping in the late Rebbe standing with the kids, shaking the boys' hands.

Posted by: Hershel Ostropoloyer | July 29, 2012 at 02:52 PM

It will happen, the only question is WHEN.

[BibleBeltJew]

dh, understood. I thought Reb Shmarya's article re: fasting in the heat was one of his best, as it was (of course) timely & nicely referenced, but moreso because it avoided referencing Chabad, MBP, Rubashkan, or Sudanese illegals. B"H, yom yom.

[dh]

Yeah, well, slow news day. Yawn.

[Jill]

Jill u dumb cunt how is this illegal?? You stupid bitch stay in the kitchen.

Posted by: John | July 29, 2012 at 03:40 PM

The fact that Shmarya posted this as a story means that it was illegal! If what Gordon did was perfectly within his legal rights then it would not be a story.

You sir are a prick!

[Yerachmiel Lopin]

I can see the new charedi approved photoshop application. It will include things like adding tzitzit, lengthening skirts and sleeves, adding kippot or hats, dropping on sheitels, a global function for fuzzing out women and goyim and tziyonim, a feature for enlarging the gadol du jour, etc.

I hear a group of Russian emigres who used to do it for the Soviet Union are consulting on the ultimate application for this purpose.

The problem they have not solved is how to have a filter allow you to look at the picture before it is touched up. Rumor has it that the rabbonim and the Russkies are coming up with a special set up where the Russian orthodox spouse vets the pictures for fixing, and the mikvah ladies remove the females or do the tznius stuff and only then do the guys get special password access for the final touchups and texts.

Pending its release it is being called sluttshush but they claim that has a whole different meaning in Russian.

[Rebitzman]

Rebitzman I'm not orthdox asshole

A comma might have helped you make your point, but you will forgive me if I don't believe you.

Perhaps Shmarya can settle this? It's pretty well established he can determine who is posting here through their IP address (which shows on his interface - suggest you read the 5PR thread).

[Antonym]

@John: Larry Gordon, is that you?

[NeverFrum]

You know John, if one relies on psych meds to function as a normal person, then I am pretty sure that you could drink water on a fast day and take your meds.

[SR]

John is expressing himself. While I MAY not be in favor with his choice of words, the exchange is humorous

[Rebitzman]

Move on, people nothing to see here.

Really - nothing to see. No kneecaps, no elbows, no......

[Korbendallas72]

Pretty sure altering a photo for the purpose of revising the past is a misuse of technology, at the very least creating a material lie. Surely that's an aveirah somewhere... or is that too ethically advanced for the communist types?

[Jake]

Larry Gordon worked for my dad years ago and he is not a Charedei.
I know Larry as well.

I don't know if he has silent partners but he is recognized as the papers owner.

To photoshop the paper is absurd.

The 5 Towns is going through a shift in terms of the Jewish demographics. When I graduared from Yeshiva HS there some 40 years ago Charedei wasnt even a term used.

The closest you got to Charedei was the shar yashuv yeshiva in Far Rockawy. they were qewl.

As we know there has been a right wing trend of modern orthodoxy.
Additionally you can buy a lot more for your million dollars in the 5 Towns then you could in any Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn.

So the black hat flight is going to the 5 Towns.

There is tension between old timers and their kids who are mainly modern Ortho vs the newer folks who have been moving in. Nobody fights but from what have been told people are very aware of the changing demographics.

For those who dont know the 5 Towns is a expensive place to live.

[Jake]

Hope all you folks championing clean speech will do so when it is against charedeim.

Not counting on it.

[Jake]

Kishke

As to the ethics of photo journalism I leave up to the editors of Penthouse as to if they need to airbrush or not

[spacedout BT]

To DefGordon- if Larry Gordon is a full bearded pinched-hat CHITAS learning kapote wearing Lubavitcher then I'm Queen Vashti.

[Chief Hole-in-the-Sheet]

Look on the bright side, kinderlach. They might soon start photoshopping in the late Rebbe standing with the kids, shaking the boys' hands.

Posted by: Hershel Ostropoloyer | July 29, 2012 at 02:52 PM

The LATE Rebbe - you'll burn in hell for adding that word.

[Jeff]

There is tension between old timers and their kids who are mainly modern Ortho vs the newer folks who have been moving in. Nobody fights but from what have been told people are very aware of the changing demographics.

It isn't the tension in communities like the Five towns that bothers me - it's the fact that the Modern Orthodox allow these people to influence them and move them sharply to the Right.

It's been an increasingly serious problem for decades. Rav Soloveitchik, on his deathbed, reportedly told Yitz Greenberg, "Don't let them move you to the Right." That was nearly twenty years ago (and he was no liberal).

When did having a backbone become assur?

[Brian]

The fact that Shmarya posted this as a story means that it was illegal! If what Gordon did was perfectly within his legal rights then it would not be a story.

You sir are a prick!

Posted by: Jill | July 29, 2012 at 07:07 PM

And you, madam, are ... wrong (and that's being polite).

You obviously haven't used this site for very long if you think that FM only posts stories which are illegal.

Maybe next time think before you mouth off.

[Brian]

In any case, I am quite sure that it is entirely legal to edit a photo you have taken. Once you've taken the photo it's yours - at least that's the law here in the UK.

I know because I couldn't get someone to remove photos from his website which he had taken of my house interior without my permission

[Apostate]

They allowed a picture with unmarried teens congregating side by side to be published? Either blot out the girls entirely or make them look truly Orthodox:

Married while barely legal, overweight, wearing a beaded snood on their heads and ugly black shoes. Fill the room with children (11 per female), and there you go. Kosher!

[Brian]

Either blot out the girls entirely or make them look truly Orthodox:

Married while barely legal, overweight, wearing a beaded snood on their heads and ugly black shoes.

Posted by: Apostate | July 30, 2012 at 07:39 AM

Of course. The only frumpy fat ugly women in the world are Jewish Orthodox!

Sigh. How pathetic.

[Apostate]

No, not all. But they're certainly over-represented.

[Jeff]

Well, when you're constantly pregnant and your entire world is centered around food...

[Brian]

Well, when you're constantly pregnant and your entire world is centered around food...

Posted by: Jeff | July 30, 2012 at 07:50 AM

Why do you, too, seek to perpetuate an innacurate sweeping generalisation?

[EileenK]

I look at both pictures and give them BOTH a shrug or a wince. First off, I am a bala tsuva who went to public high school that had a dress code that we obeyed. (No halter tops, no shorts, no muscle shirts, and sometimes no tank tops. The school was not air conditioned and ran until the third week of June.) If there had been a photographing session for a local newspaper or even the PTA newsletter, the administration would have told us the night before and told us to wear something appropriate.

Now most of the MO schools I know have a dress code. The kids and their parents are supposed to be religious. It is NOT a uniform though it can be a bit absurd at times, but basically for young women that age it teaches basic, business casual dress and provides a wardrobe suitable for synagogue services. And if you really believe in modesty, it should become second nature, not just for school but for any formal/business event.

The uncensored picture shows it clearly isn't. Oh well, hypocrisy is part of human nature, but I still wonder why the school administration did not ask the students to show up for the picture in "dress-code" clothing.

Alternatively, the Photoshopping was utterly clumsy. Why didn't the photographer just take the picture from the or waist up. That would also have made the young man's worn, blue jeans less obvious?

[Jeff]

I'm of the opinion that it isn't inaccurate.

Which Brian am I addressing - the Brian who usually agrees with me or the Brian who thinks I'm a hateful asshole?

[Ruby E]

The nerve of a publication having a policy of editing content!

And now this from the FailedMessiah comment policy:

Comment Rules

1. No anonymous comments.

2. Use only one name or alias and stick with that.

3. Do not use anyone else's name or alias.

4. Do not sockpuppet.

5. Try to argue using facts and logic.

6. Do not lie.

7. No name-calling, please.

8. Do not post entire articles or long article excerpts.

***Violation of these rules may lead to the violator's comments being edited or his future comments being banned.***

[Jeff]

There's nothing in the above list about editing content.

So your point is... ?

[Eli, what me messiah?]

John seems to have disappeared, and not surprisingly during school hours.
Figured.

[Shoshi]

While they were at it, they should have photoshopped some space between the boys and the girls and photoshopped that boy's hands off of those girls. :-)

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

Is the Five Town Jewish Times a Haredi paper?
Posted by: Jack | July 29, 2012 at 04:12 PM
Not only is it a Haredi paper it is a Chabad paper! Can't get more Haredi than that!
Posted by: SMR | July 29, 2012 at 04:42 PM

I would disagree. When I hear "Haredi" I think "Jewish." When I hear "Chabad," I think "outside the Pale."

[RandomReader]

As having done this kind of work before a synagogue and school, I can tell you that solid black is the easiest outfit to Photoshop in more of. Notice the one girl in the light grey skirt is left largely untouched, and it seems like her knee is still visible. It's a lot harder to add material when you have to take shadowing into account.

Moral of the story: If you don't want to be photoshopped where light colors and plaids.

[Flying Dutchman]

Funny how you link this to Chabad and use THIS to put them in a bad light. Has anyone been in Crown Heights lately?! Short skirts are pretty much the norm there now.

[Jake]

Ruby E?

[sk]

Larry Gordon grew up in Crown Heights and he is Orthodox, but not Chabad. Not all Crown Heights residents are Chabad.