Editors can do Better than Turning to Central Casting on Tisha B’Av

Yediot....

When Israeli news outlet editors (many of whom are not Orthodox) are looking for a Tisha B’Av image, they invariably pick one of men somewhere on the ultra-Orthodox spectrum praying at the Western Wall.

Maybe next year, picture editors might consider an image that shows ordinary observant Israelis reciting Lamentations perhaps in non-Haredi synagogues or those in Jerusalem who gather family-style on the Promenade overlooking the Old City.

Israel Hayom ......

Haaretz .....

I for one was buoyed by this GPO image of Prime Minister Bennett reciting Lamentations with his son. It was at least a step closer to how things really are, though few print outlets made room for the picture.

When editors are on deadline especially on a Saturday night it is easy to go for a “central casting” image, yet portraying ordinary Israelis engaging in Jewish observance would be no less a reflection of reality while also reinforcing the message that Tisha B’Av is a commemoration for all Jewish Israelis — particularly the Zionist majority.