MS. Feminazis Literally

Naomi Ragen sent this. It is shocking. UPDATE: Phyllis Chesler is on it here as well.

Steinem's spawn.

T"he American Jewish Congress composed an ad which consisted of the pictures of three Israeli women: Dorit Beinish, head of the Supreme Court, Dalia Itzik, Speaker of the Knesset, and Tzipi Livni, Foreign Minister.

The ad said: "This is Israel."  Now, considering that the country in which these women live is in the Middle East, where girls have no rights, are murdered by their fathers and brothers if they so much as look at a boy, have their bodies mutilated to deny them sexual pleasure, and cannot show their face, let alone hold office,   I suppose this is noteworthy. I can't see anything controversial here, except, of course, if you hate Israel, Israelis, Jews, Jewish women, and find anything positive about these things offensive.  Let's say if you're a member of Hamas, or a neo-Nazi, or maybe one of Bin Laden's wives.  Well, they tried ot place this ad in Ms. Magazine, and guess what?  The magazine REFUSED TO RUN IT!

This same magazine which weeps over the rights of Afghan women and Iranian women, finds it too controversial to print this simple statement of fact about the state of women in another Middle Eastern country."

I find that offensive.  If you agree, please contact:
Senior Editor Michele Kort mkort@msmagazine.com

Advertising: Ms. magazine Attention: Michel Cicero, Managing Editor
433 South Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
For questions regarding material: (310) 556-2515

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Ms. Magazine Blocks Ad on Israeli Women January 10, 2008 —

Ms. Magazine has long been in the forefront of the fight for equal rights and equal opportunities for women.  Apparently that is not the case if the women happen to be Israeli.

The magazine has turned down an AJCongress advertisement that did nothing more controversial than call attention to the fact that women currently occupy three of the most significant positions of power in Israeli public life.  The proposed ad (The Ad Ms. Didn't Want You To See

) included a text that merely said, “This is Israel,” under photographs of President of the Supreme Court Dorit Beinish, Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik.

“What other conclusion can we reach,” asked Richard Gordon, President of AJCongress, “except that the publishers − and if the publishers are right, a significant number of Ms. Magazine readers − are so hostile to Israel that they do not even want to see an ad that says something positive about Israel?”

When Director of AJCongress’ Commission for Women’s Empowerment Harriet Kurlander tried to place the ad, she was told that publishing the ad “will set off a firestorm” and that “there are very strong opinions” on the subject − the subject presumably being whether or not one can say anything positive about Israel.  Ms. Magazine publisher Eleanor Smeal failed to respond to a signed-for certified letter with a copy of the ad as well as numerous calls by Mr. Gordon over a period of weeks.

A Ms. Magazine representative, Susie Gilligan, whom the Ms. Magazine masthead lists under the publisher’s office, told Ms. Kurlander that the magazine “would love to have an ad from you on women’s empowerment, or reproductive freedom, but not on this.”  Ms. Gilligan failed to elaborate what “this” is.

“The only conclusion that one can reach from this behavior is that Ms. Magazine feels that an ad highlighting the accomplishments of three incredibly talented and dedicated women would offend their readership.  Since there is nothing about the ad itself that is offensive, it is obviously the nationality of the women pictured that the management of Ms. fears their readership would find objectionable.  For a publication that holds itself out to be in the forefront of the Women’s Movement, this is nothing short of disgusting and despicable,” stated Mr. Gordon.

Ms. Magazine has a long record of publishing advertisements rallying readers to support reproductive choice; opposing the Religious Right; highlighting the fragility of the pro-Roe v. Wade majority on the Supreme Court; charging that “Pat Robertson and his Religious Right cohorts don’t like individual freedom;” announcing support for the “struggle for freedom and human rights;” opposing the Bush administration’s campaign to fill federal courts with judges who “will reverse decades of progress on reproductive rights and privacy, civil rights, religious liberty, environmental protection and so much more;” as well as accusing the Bush administration of being “bent on rewarding big corporations and the rich, turning back the clock on women’s rights and civil rights, and promoting a U.S. empire abroad.”

“This flagship publication of the American women’s empowerment movement publishes ads that are controversial in the general culture but not so among its readership,” Ms. Kurlander said. “Obviously, Ms. believes our ad would enflame a significant portion of their readers.”

Mr. Gordon added, “What really amazes me is that just recently, in their Winter 2007 issue, Ms. ran a cover story with a picture of Congresswomen Nancy Pelosi with the heading in big letters: “This is What a Speaker Looks Like.”  While Ms. has every reason to be proud of Speaker Pelosi and her accomplishments, as are we, the only discernable difference between Speaker Pelosi and Speaker Itzik apparently is that Speaker Pelosi is not Israeli.”

Mr. Gordon noted that while Israel was apparently too hot to handle, Ms. Magazine did not extend that taboo to Arab and Moslem women.  “What is even more amazing is that, while refusing to publish a simple ad praising three very notable women, women who embody the ideal that Ms. Magazine seemingly espouses, Ms. has run a cover article in the Fall 2003 issue on Queen Noor of Jordan, has featured a number of articles on Muslim women, and even ran an article in the Winter 2004 issue entitled, ‘Images of Palestine,’ which discussed the Ramallah Film Festival and gave sympathetic reviews to films concerning ‘the liberation of South Lebanon’ from Israel as well as numerous films which portrayed terrorism as legitimate ‘revolutionary’ activity against Israel and miscast Israel’s activities to counter terrorism as ‘oppressive.’”

“Clearly Ms. has changed a great deal from the days when AJCongress members and leaders of the AJCongress’ Commission for Women’s Equality − including Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug and Ms. co-founder Letty Pogrebin − were at the forefront of the Women’s Movement that led to the creation of Ms. Magazine.”

AJCongress President Gordon concluded, “Ms. has the right to turn down our ad. But in exercising that right, it has spoken loudly about itself and its readership, and their lingering hostility to Israel.”

Mr. Gordon and Ms. Kurlander are available for further comment. Contact David Twersky at (212) 360-1586 or dtwersky@ajcongress.org.

The American Jewish Congress is a membership association of Jewish Americans, organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad, through public policy advocacy, in the courts, Congress, the executive branch and state and local governments.  It also works overseas with others who are similarly engaged.

Comments

[barbarany_9]

I am DISGUSTED with Ms. for this one.

Going to FIRE OFF a letter to them right now.

Thanks for this post

[Shy Guy]

On the one hand, this shows everything that's wrong with Ms. Magazine.

On the other hand, Beinish, Livni and Itzik represent everything that's wrong with Israel's government, politics and justice system.

If the AJC thinks that these 3 women have benefited Israel over the past decade or 2, let the AJC rot in its stupor. Please give your donations to any of the plenty of other organizations around which show some intelligence.

[Shy Guy]

Speaking of ad rejections: Lebanese authorities nix Wiesenthal center ad.

Did the folks at Wiesenthal seriously think this ad would be published or did they know in advance that this would prove a certain point? Sadly, I doubt the latter.

[NormanF]

The Left has devolved from a position of unabashed and staunch support for Israel to a position of virulent and unrelenting hostility to anything Jewish.

Its ironic, that in refusing to run an ad illustrating the progress women have made in Israel, Ms. Magazine - and by the extension - the feminist movement and the Left have nothing to say about the complete deprivation of female rights under Islam - the lack of equality, ownership as male property, absence of education and voting rights, lack of mobility and freedom and beatings, rape, and of course - honor killings perpetrated among them. Not to mention sexual mutilation of the female body. Not ONE word about all of the above appears in Ms. Magazine.

But an ad showing how advanced the status of women is in the Jewish State would offend its readership. Oy vey!

[shmujew]

thats not israel REAL RELIGIOUS JEWS ON THE HILLTOPS RISKING THEIR LIVES AGAINST INSANE ARABS ARE ISRAEL

TEL AVAIV DISCOTECAS AND HAIFAN BOLSHEVIKS ARE NOT ISRAEL

HEBRON IS ISRAEL

SCHEM IS ISRAEL

JERUSALEM IS ISRAEL

[NormanF]

ShyGuy, I ought to add here that I hold no brief for the Leftist women who have prominent roles in the Jewish State. I don't think their politics have been of great benefit to Israel.

That's neither here nor now. The point is the ad was not run because they were Jewish figures. If that's "controversial" then the world hasn't progressed much since the Second World War. Too put not too fine a point of it, after a hiatus of barely 60 plus years, both anti-Semitism and Judeophobia are becoming fashionable again in enlightened circles in the West.

What a shame.

[clyde]

Ms Magazine is still in print? I thought it went out of business years ago, having become as irrelevant as its founder, Gloria "Bunny" Steinem, once she got married to a rich guy.

[chsw]

Why is this a surprise? If you look down the list of loony leftist leagues sponsoring anti-Israel demonstrations, chances are that you will find your local NOW chapter. NOW sold its soul a long time ago.

chsw

[JCL154]

I believe Ms. Magazine publisher Eleanor Smeal is a former national president of NOW. Never much cared for her.

[joeblough]

The "feminists" consistently live up to, and indeed exceed my worst expectations.

They clearly have no interest in the welfare or the rights of ordinary women.

If they were primarily interested in the rights of women, that alone would decide them in favor of Israel, where women are everywhere integrated into the communities of business and politics, and against the "palistinians" under who's sway women are truly reduced to chattel.

If women's rights were their litmus test for anything, this would be a simple uncontroversial matter.

When you consider their actions their priorities are clear:

-- Political power for themselves personally
-- Fashionable standing among the anti-western political crowd

An ordinary housewife or schoolgirl in the "territories"? Who cares!

And I've seen a fair amount of writing on this subject from women who come from the mohammedan parts of the world, and those who have experience there, who are truly concerned with women's rights, about how little interest they receive from fashionable western "feminists" !

The Ms. magazine crowd are scum. Collaborators. Worse than the Vichy servants of the Nazis.

At least the Vichy gang had the excuse that the Nazis had conquered them militarily. These people are pro-actively seeking opportunities to collaborate.

Why?

Because they imagine that under a mohammedan regime they would be members of the privileged ruling class. -- that they would be hanging out with Queen Noor and her pals, bossing the servants around.

They don't identify with the ordinary girl-in-the-street mohammedan, bossed around and possibly even molested by her own father and brothers and male cousins, smothered under concealing robes, and condemned to a life of ignorance and obedience.

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BTW I heard all of this before from the women of the black civil rights movement.

The issue of that day was: "black women have always been 'liberated' in the sense of having to work for a living. That's not the problem. The problem is that we're still treated like dirt because we're black!"

And guess what?

The Ms. types and NOW types had no time for them either.

Those ordinary, often poor women had nothing to offer in the way of political power and influence. So they were dropped like a hot rock.

It's an old story.

============

Someone who knows more than me ought to write a book about it.

For all I know, maybe somebody has.