Stamford Hill and The Pressures of Modesty for Women

The last event I attended in Stamford Hill was one like the one this woman writes about. I was asked to come dressed appropriately and covered up which I would have done anyway. I was even told that I needed to cover my hair despite the fact I was divorced and this is not necessary according to Jewish law.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid05Eck6j7F9rgz5h2g988xWx9EPSS5tS2KYZpfVLgnTQMx2B77Mpu2vwJ2pe6fTB9Ll&id=564892540

I had countless texts and phone calls prior to this event when the parents (my sibling and her husband) kept asking for photos of what I would wear and wanted to vet me and check it would fit their list of what was acceptable. Of course I’d have gone with appropriate attire but the pressure was so intense and was too much for me.

At the event itself I was looked at from head to toe by pretty much every single person there. I was taken aside by members of my own family who had questions about why I just couldn’t wear a wig (I’d already donated mine to other women in the community).

That night I decided I would never attend an event in Stamford Hill again. I shouldn’t have to justify the denier tights I’m wearing or why I’m wearing 3/4 length T-shirts not ones till the wrist. And the insistence of me covering my hair was ridiculous.

I respect people.
I respect their community.
But they will never respect my life and my choices.

So I’ve never been back.

#stamfordhill #hasidic #jewish #ultraorthodox #modestfashion #honor #shameful The Jewish News #weddingday

The New Nude? Radical Show Explores the Naked Body in Photograph

‘Nude’, an exhibition at Fotografiska New York will look back on this gaze, and look hard.

The show, which opens on 11 February 2022, explores the naked body through different aesthetic lenses: poignant, macabre, glamorised and disorientating.

Though the show is limited to work by 30 female-identifying photographers (an effort to counteract male-dominated perspectives on nudity), the subject matter is not limited by gender identity.

Featured artists, representing 20 nationalities, include nonbinary individuals, men, and women, among whom are transgender individuals sharing their surgical transitions.

“Most of the bodies we see online on a daily basis aren’t even real, but rather enhanced or modified by technology to conform to an unsustainable current trend,’ says LA-based photographer Julia SH.

Julia is exhibiting powerful, textured portraits of bodies rarely depicted in 21st-century media, presented in museum-like frames.”

*****

Please be respectful and kind. If you have nothing nice to say just don’t comment at all. I find this fascinating purely because people come in all shapes and sizes and from so many cultures and nationalities.

And yet we keep being fed one narrative: only the thinnest bodies with perfect breasts and bums and six packs are okay to publish.

Indeed even when they have “plus size” models they can still be a U.K. size 12 which is obviously not plus size! All scars, freckles, cellulite and other parts of a normal body is smoothed away to show us what they want us to think is “a perfect body”.

The pressure has been put on women and girls for decades. However in recent years men and boys are also expected to have a perfect body. And a man with a bit of a belly is nicknamed “having a dad bod” as though that’s something to be ashamed of.

People are all different. We can have things we prefer and looks we admire. But for us to think that what is shown on social media is anything other than totally FAKE is ignorant.

Even the people who are considered the “prettiest or most handsome people” filter their pictures – obviously after taking 100 of the same photo to get “the perfect one to post”!

https://www.wallpaper.com/art/nude-photography-exhibition-fotografiska-new-york

What’s the Name of the Jewish New Year?!? Comedy Gold!!

This happened on Saturday on the BBC on the Michael McIntyre show called The Wheel. Enjoy!!

Radio Host Talks With Lebanese Man, Eliyah Hawlia, who Married a Jewish Syrian Bride As He Pretended to be Jewish!

This is Stan. I don’t know who he is but he is definitely someone who has strong opinions about this young man who is of Lebanese Muslim descent.

The way he speaks to Eliyah, originally called Ali Hassan, is absolutely disgusting. He is supposed to be an Orthodox Jew yet feels it’s okay to put this 23 year old down like this.

Mocking someone, calling them a “loser” or that he “needs to take his medication” is awful. To tell someone to shut up and stop talking is vile. If this Stan guy doesn’t want to listen to Eliyah, there’s an off button! Simple!

At 17 we all made mistakes. His one was a bigger one which spiralled. The fact was that he lied. That’s all. I think he’s genuine and I hope someone helps him out… he’s lost everything… his wife, his job, his friends and support system etc.

He has been open and honest about what he did that was wrong and I hope there’s a rabbi who will be able to convert him. My ex husband was a convert and it took over 2 years and that was without lies so it’s not a simple process….

It’s sad to see what’s happened to a young man who just wanted something that he couldn’t have and resorted to lying.

I find it so disturbing that he says he’s got countless serious threats to his life. He’s received very dark death threats and he fears for his life.

I hope his wife is getting the help she undoubtedly needs, and I hope he is also getting help for what he did and what lead him to lie to this extent.

Of course what he did was wrong and he has repeatedly apologised for it all. What does Stan and his ilk want from him?? How many more times can he keep apologising to his wife and family for what he did? And does it give anyone the right to say the things that this Stan guy says?

This is another caller called Judy who is just as bad as Stan, if not worse, as she is dismissive, patronising, puts him down in every possible way. Listening to her makes me feel ashamed to have ever been part of this world.

She doesn’t even let him speak, constantly interrupting him to the point where he becomes frustrated and defensive.

In all honesty it can be summed up as a mess! Aka a Sh-t show!!

#Talkline #lying #wife #husband #Jewish #Muslim #conversion #Israel #bekind

Lebanese man from Muslim Family Posed as Ultra Orthodox Jew for Years…

Eliyah Hawila reportedly confirms to law enforcement he is not Jewish, and says he married Haredi woman to join the Jewish community. He says he always “felt Jewish and has a Jewish Soul”.

Hawila had reportedly given a convincing story as to why he was cut off from his family and had been affiliated with the Chabad Lubavitch branch in Texas for several years.

https://youtu.be/ak9r0p4DkTY – this is the full hour plus interview he did on a talk show. He was brave enough to take questions too.

Just a few weeks ago he married a woman who he found on the dating site “Met You At Sinai”. It seems strange that he was able to marry a Jewish woman of Syrian descent who spoke both Arabic and Hebrew fluently and no one checked to see who he really was.

Of course he is sad and seems very genuine in his desire to convert despite knowing that the Syrian community don’t accept converts. He wants to convert regardless of whether he is able to be with his estranged wife or not.

For me personally it’s not about religion. It’s about someone who has been dishonest about who he genuinely is and his background knowing that if people knew his name was Ali Hassan Hawila rather than Elijah Hawila, he would not be accepted. And that’s true.

Unfortunately his lying started off as a small lie but spiralled over a period of a number of years and everything about who he was was fake. Of course when you marry someone you should be looking into who they are and it’s sad that his wife’s family didn’t do that.

I found myself feeling compassion for him. However, at the same time I didn’t know what was true and what was another lie. I just don’t know what to believe. And that’s painful for him. No one knows what is true and what is yet more lies.

I genuinely wish him all the best and respect the fact that he went on a public show and told his story. Not many people have the courage to do that. I wonder what his future holds.

#Jewish #Islam #conversion #ElijahHawila #scam