Israeli grocery store chain Shufersal’s “BePharm” pharmacy branch in Bnei Brak on Sunday replaced its products that had stickers covering women’s faces with unaltered products, according to Israeli media, following protests by non-religious local residents.
Last week, the branch located in a haredi area made headlines when it covered the faces of the models on boxes of hair dye with purple stickers.
After an initial negative media response, BePharm said that this move was only made in the Bnei Brak branch because it mainly caters to haredi people.
This sparked widespread protests led by feminist organization “Building an Alternative,” during which women with their faces covered stood outside BePharm branches with picket signs. In one instance, protesters used stickers to cover products with pictures of men.
According to Maariv, the company responded to protests by replacing the products with images of women’s faces with alternative products with no pictures.
The entrance to a local Shufersal store is seen in Jerusalem, August 1, 2022 (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)Only after further criticism did the company on Sunday begin to return the original products to their shelves without any coverings or stickers.
“Adjustments were made in the branch so that there is no concealment of women’s faces on any product,” BePharm CEO Einat Peled Shapira told Ynet on Sunday. “As a woman who serves as the CEO…I am strongly and unequivocally opposed to the exclusion of women from the public sphere.
“From the moment I learned about the case at the Bnei Brak branch, which has been operating this way for many years, it was important for me to examine the issue in depth and create a dialogue in order to bring about a solution that was acceptable to all parties and reflects the company’s values.”
Haredi run-ins with Israeli public life
Earlier last week, a haredi newspaper published an ad telling girls not to play outside on Shabbat.
“Girls, on Shabbat, leave the streets empty of games so that we can get to the synagogues and play only in corners, car parks and gardens,” was written in the ad.
Yisrael Beitenu MK Yulia Malinovsky tweeted the ad with a demand for Israel Police to investigate it.
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