Stickers hide women's pictures in store

JERUSALEM, July 13 (UPI) -- Stickers hid pictures of women on products at a Jerusalem orthopedic supply store because of requests from "some of of our customers," the owner said.

The owner said covering the pictures was in deference to clientele who are Haredi, the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, Ynetnews reported Friday.

"Eisler Orthopedic-pharm respects different sectors of the population," the owner said in a statement. "As our branch also supplies its services to the Haredi public and as the issue is fundamental to them and does not hurt the professionalism of the services we provide, we agreed to the request of some of our customers to cover the pictures."

The owner said Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where the shop is located, wasn't involved.

Dana Kaduri, 30, told Ynetnews she saw the covered packaging when she went to the store to make a purchase.

"When I looked at the products, I discovered that the pictures of the women were all covered with stickers -- including their faces and the rest of the body," she said. "Every sign of the female form was removed."

Kaduri is an aide to Knesset member Nitzan Horowitz, who spoke out against the belief that the pictures should be covered.

Hiding the women's pictures "stems from the opinion that the woman is an impure creature, that by looking at [a woman], or hearing [her] voice, innocent men could be led to sin ... ," Horowitz said on his Facebook page.

"This is a distorted approach that has no place in a free society," he wrote.

He said the practice "shames" and "dishonors" women and "blocks them professionally and leads to violence against them."