Yet Another Hasidic Publication Denies the Existence of Hillary Clinton

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Hillary Clinton! First there were those allergies that caused her to cover her mouth in the iconic Situation Room photo taken by White House photographer Pete Souza as the administration watched the raid on Osama Bin Laden. Then she was unceremoniously removed from the photo by ultra-Orthodox Hasidic newspaper Der Tzitung (as was Audrey Tomason, director of counterterrorism) because a photo of a woman "could be seen as sexually suggestive." Now a second paper has joined in. De Voch, which means "The Week," is another ultra-Orthodox magazine, and apparently its publishers are not very good with Photoshop, or Hillary left a smudge (woman stain!), or something. Hence, this.

via FailedMessiah

As Rosie pointed out over the weekend, this is "rather offensive and demeaning," as well as illegal. Der Tzitung has since apologized, with the following statement, excerpted from the Washington Post. Will De Voch follow?

The White House released a picture showing the President following "live" the events in the apprehension of Osama Bin Laden, last week Sunday. Also present in the Situation Room were various high-ranking government and military officials. Our photo editor realized the significance of this historic moment, and published the picture, but in his haste he did not read the "fine print" that accompanied the picture, forbidding any changes. We should not have published the altered picture, and we have conveyed our regrets and apologies to the White House and to the State Department.

In accord with our religious beliefs, we do not publish photos of women, which in no way relegates them to a lower status. Publishing a newspaper is a big responsibility, and our policies are guided by a Rabbinical Board. Because of laws of modesty, we are not allowed to publish pictures of women, and we regret if this gives an impression of disparaging to women, which is certainly never our intention. We apologize if this was seen as offensive.

In far less serious matters, this is still the very best Photoshop effort regarding the Situation Room photo. Sorry, it just is.

Newspaper Photoshops Hillary Clinton Out Of Situation Room Photo [Failed Messiah via Daily Intel]