A haredi modesty sign has been removed from a public supermarket in Jerusalem's Talpiot neighborhood after customers, neighbors and, ultimately, a local politician and the store’s landlord complained.
Jerusalem Supermarket Removes Haredi Modesty Sign But Admits No Wrongdoing
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A haredi modesty sign has been removed from a public supermarket in Jerusalem's Talpiot neighborhood after customers, neighbors and, ultimately, a local politician and the store’s landlord complained, Ynet reported.
The sign in the Osher Ad haredi supermarket located in the Hadar Mall asked those entering "to respect the store's customers while they visit the store and dress in modest clothing."
The sign was only removed after the Hadar Mall’s management demanded it be taken down.
"The chain chose to enter this [largely secular] neighborhood and should respect the area, not the other way around, because we are its target audience," Roni Hazon Weiss, secretary-general of the city's Yerushalmim faction, reportedly said. Weiss complained to Hadar Mall's management last week about the sign, which led to its removal.
"You have to understand how such a sign affects women. It hurts their heart and soul. This constant occupation with ‘modesty’ is unacceptable and simply irrelevant. There is no reason to engage in people's clothing while they shop. The next step will be to place a box with scarves, like what happened [at a supermarket] in Beit Shemesh [several years ago,] Weiss said.
The Hadar Mall apologized for the sign and said it asked for the sign to be removed immediately after Weiss brought it to their attention.
“Immediately after learning about the sign placed in the Osher Ad store, which orders customers to enter in modest clothing, the mall's manager, Eyal Sakoza, personally turned to the store's management and asked that the sign be removed immediately, and that's what happened. The Hadar Mall is open to all sectors. That’s the way it was in the past and that's the way it will be in the future. We apologize if the sign offended any sector,” the mall’s management said in a statement.
The Osher Ad supermarket chain refused to comment on the incident. But when pressed by a customer on its Facebook page, Osher Ad doubled down on what it did and offered no apology for offending non-haredi customers.
“We don't tell anyone how to dress. The sign contains a request to show consideration towards all customers,” the haredi supermarket chain claimed.
Similar types of haredi modesty signs have been found to be illegal by Israel’s High Court of Justice.