Update: Haredi Rabbis' Burqa 'Ban' Not Really A Ban At All

After days of speculation, at the request of the husbands of women caught up in the extreme modesty movement, haredi rabbis in Jerusalem have issued a notice calling on Jewish women to stop dressing in burqas, instead encouraging women to wear shawls to cover their upper bodies so they do not look exactly like Muslim women.

Updated and revised 8:30 am CDT

There have been several press reports over the past few days claiming Edah Charedis, the Mea Shearim-based haredi umbrella group, would be banning Jewish women from wearing burqas and hijabs.

I refrained from posting those stories because Edah Charedis had not yet issued their ban, and I wanted to wait to see if they really would do it.

Apparently Edah Charedis did issue an announcement today, but it calls on women to wear shawls (over their normal clothes) to cover their bodies so they can be modest but, at the same time, not look like Muslim women.

The announcement posted in Jerusalem also says women should not talk on their cell phone in a public or on a large bus.

 
Burqa Cult and Related Posts.

Update 8:30 am CDT – Thank you to all the commenters who caught my errors. I was sick most of yesterday and all of last night and this morning, and I relied on the person who tipped me. That doesn't excuse my errors, although it helps explain them.