The Haredi veil controversy is an ongoing controversy, primarily concentrated in Israel, in which devout Jewish Haredi women a mandate for the wearing of shalim (veils, akin to burqas; also known as "frumkas", a play of the word frum, or "devout").
The development of the frumka as a form of modest dress for Haredi Jewish women in Israel has proven controversial in Israeli society, as the dress is usually associated with the country's Arabic-speaking Muslim minority as well as female Muslim Palestinians. The veil has proven particularly controversial in Haredi circles, with vocal condemnation of the veil by Haredi men who feel the veil to be "too" modest.
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The burka as a mode of dress for Haredi women was encouraged by "Rabbanit" Bruria Keren, an Israeli religious leader who teaches a strict interpretation of Jewish scripture for female adherents.
"I follow these rules of modesty to save men from themselves. A man who sees a woman's body parts is sexually aroused, and this might cause him to commit sin. Even if he doesn't actually sin physically, his impure thoughts are sin in themselves."[1]
The religious group, which was estimated to number around 100 in 2008, is concentrated in Beit Shemesh. After being sentenced to prison on charges of severely abusing her children[2][3]. , Keren was succeeded as leader of the group by "Rebbetzin" Bracha Benizri (Hebrew: ברכה בניזרי).
The response by other Orthodox schools has been one of consternation, particularly against the shal garment. An anonymous pashkevil condemning the "cult" of "epikoros" women was posted in Jerusalem in September 2011. The Edah HaChareidis issued an edict declaring the shal a sexual fetish to be as deviant as scant clothing or nudity[4]. "There is a real danger that by exaggerating, you are doing the opposite of what is intended [resulting in] severe transgressions in sexual matters,” explains Edah member Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim.
According to The Jerusalem Post, a Member of the Knesset, MK Marina Solodkin (Kadima) is intending to put forward a bill to "prohibit the wearing of a full-body and face covering for women. [The] bill would not differentiate between Muslims and Jews.[5]
Keren is also not an ordained rabbi, according to Sheera Frenkel of The Times[6][7]. The Israeli press has adopted the informal epithet "Taliban mothers" to refer to the followers of Keren's teachings on modesty[8].
Elsewhere, Miriam Shaviv writes that "at least 100" Jewish women have taken to wearing the veil. This followed its adoption by Bruria Keren, who was "considered a holy woman" by these women. Shaviv, who considers Keren to be "mentally ill", continues:
Nobody forced them; however, she clearly convinced these gullible and needy women that the ideal for a woman was not to be seen in public (and not even to be heard – she used to stop talking for days on end). Negating themselves, she was telling them, making themselves invisible, was the height of frumkeit, while in fact it has no basis whatsoever in halachah.[9]
Keren was arrested on charges of severely abusing her children[10][11]. Identified in court as "B.", she was convicted by the Jerusalem District Court in November 2007 on three counts of abuse of a minor or helpless person and 25 counts of assault in aggravated circumstances, and sentenced to four years in prison. Her husband, identified in court as "M." was also convicted of 10 counts of assault and three counts of abuse of a minor or helpless person, and was sentenced to six months in jail.
Another Haredi group which Recommended female adherents to wear shalim is the Lev Tahor group of Israeli-Canadian rabbi Shlomo Helbrans[12].