JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A female New York Times reporter who accompanied Mayor Eric Adams on his trip to Israel, tweeted her annoyance about the fact that she needed to be in the women’s section, while Adams visited the Kosel.
Now she is getting major backlash from orthodox Jews and others, at her complete disrespect for ancient and sacred Jewish halachos and customs.
Emma Fitzsimmons, City Hall Bureau Chief for the Times, tweeted a picture of herself on the other side of the mechitza. She wrote: “TFW you’re at the Western Wall in Jerusalem as a female journalist and you have to climb a bench and look over a fence to see the mayor.”
Ben Shapiro sarcastically tweeted: “TFW you think others’ religious standards ought to bow to your secularism at one of their holiest sites”
Shapiro added: “She should travel one mile into PA-controlled territory to see how much they love feminist secularism, and how things would go if she demanded they mimic her standards. But boo hoo, she had to stand on a bench to take a picture over a mechitza in Jerusalem.”
Political activist Chaskel Bennett wrote: “As journalistic integrity, honesty, and impartiality has grown obsolete, the new norm for attention starved reporters seems to be the need to insert themselves into the story. What was once a cardinal sin for journalists has become the pathetic new standard. The @nytimes is certainly leading in this dubious category.”
Kiryas Joel School Superintendent Joel Petlin wrote: “The comments and quote posts to this post by a @nytimes reporter should be instructive to all journalists who are covering religious groups and places of worship. If you don’t respect the traditions of the faith that you’re covering, then give the assignment to someone who will.”
Journalist Lea Goldman wrote: “I hate it when centuries old religious practice gets in the way of a good shot.”
It is hard to believe that if Fitzsimmons had accompanied Adams to a Mosque, where she would be given far less access than she got at the Kosel, and likely be forced to cover her entire face, that she would have uttered a single word of negativity.
Source: VosIzNeias