Left-wing demand for modest dress during visit to Muslim village sparks backlash, accusations of hypocrisy

By World Israel News Staff

A right-wing organization published a list of guidelines for a scheduled tour of Huwara organized by progressive Israeli activists, highlighting the requirement that visitors adhere to modest dress standards.

Torat Lehima, a Zionist NGO, posted a screenshot of the Forum for Regional Thought’s “solidarity visit” to the PA-controlled city, which included instructions that women wear long pants and cover their shoulders, with no tank tops permitted.

The organization captioned the photo “The Handmaid’s Tale?” in reference to demonstrators against the current government who have dressed up as characters from the dystopian novel and TV series, which depicts a society in which women have no rights.

Left-wing activists have repeatedly claimed that Israel is hurtling towards a reality mirroring that of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” due to the presence of ultra-Orthodox parties in the current ruling coalition.

“We see performances of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ [during left-wing protests] on Kaplan [Street in Tel Aviv]… Some people will wear ‘modest clothes’ to respect Muslims but not to respect religious Jews. Oh, the hypocrisy!”

Left-wing activist Eran Tzedkiyahu, who is one of the organizers of the visit, claimed that the request was due to the possibility that the visitors would encounter observant Jews living near Huwara.

“This is my tour,” he replied to the Twitter thread. “Since there is a chance that we will meet, among others, Jewish settlers and Muslim residents who are religious and traditional, we try to consider their feelings and adapt ourselves culturally.”

However, Tzedkiyahu did not acknowledge the inherent contradiction between left-wing activism, which is highly critical of the Jewish religious establishment in Israel, and asking visitors to adapt their behavior to be respectful to a Muslim Arab cultural environment.

A Twitter user named Daniela noted the use of the euphemistic phrase “socially appropriate clothing” rather than the organization acknowledging that they were asking visitors to adhere to Islamic standards of modest dress.

“The left’s determination to avoid the truth and their hypocrisy breaks new records,” she wrote.

Several other Twitter users alluded to the Israeli left’s tolerance for Islamic views that are in stark contrast with liberal values, while the same progressives vehemently criticize religiously observant Jews.

“Religion is religion,” wrote Matanel, a Twitter user. “Islam is very problematic towards gays and women… even more so than Judaism.”