NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 18: Smurfs at the United Nations Headquarters celebrating International Day of Happiness in conjunction with SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE on March 18, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Sony Pictures)
BNEI BRAK, Israel (AP) — Israel’s pious ultra-Orthodox Jewish community has long chafed at public displays of women, whether the images are of female public figures or ordinary women.
Now even animated characters appear to be a no-go.
The PR company promoting “Smurfs: The Lost Village” movie, which opens Thursday in Israel, says it has removed the images of Smurfette — the only female among the Smurf characters — from promo posters in the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak.
The Mirka’im-Hutzot Zahav company says it did so as not to offend the city’s ultra-Orthodox residents.
The original poster shows Smurfette alongside friends Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty. But in Bnei Brak, she’s nowhere to be found.
The ultra-Orthodox press in Israel has previously avoided publishing pictures of Hillary Clinton during last year’s American presidential race.
