'Modesty police' patrols bridge ceremony

'Modesty police' patrols bridge ceremony
Dancers scheduled to appear in opening ceremony of new Chords Bridge in Jerusalem undergo emergency wardrobe change after ultra-Orthodox elements deem original outfits immodest, threaten mass protest

Neta Sela
Yedioth Ahranoth Published: 06.26.08, 10:56

A cover-up: The dancers hired to perform at Wednesday inauguration ceremony of Jerusalem's new Chords Bridge had to undergo a last-minute wardrobe change, after ultra-Orthodox elements deemed their costume "too revealing," and threatened to stage a mass protest at the ceremony.

Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski was reportedly under significant pressure to cancel the performance altogether, but eventually, a compromised was reached: The dancers were dressed in long outfits – complete with headdress – which rendered their figures unrecognizable. The performance was also cut from three segments to one.

Yaniv Hoffman, the company's manager, slammed the decision: "The parents and the girls were stunned and we're completely thrown. This company has been performing in every official city event for the past 20 years and this is the first time anything like this has happened. These are 13 to 16-year-old dancers. This is art, it's not like they're go-go dancers."

The secular residents of Jerusalem, added Hoffman, should do something now, before it is too late: "This isn't just the company's fight. The public has to wake up. These are dark days for all of us. It saddens me to see the depths our capital has sunk to."

City Councilman Saar Netanel called the decision "scandalous", adding it serves as an example to the city's "backwards leadership."

"Miraculously, the Gay Pride Parade held in the city on Thursday will represent the exact opposite… The parade belongs not only to the proud members of the capital's gay community, but to the company's dancers as well, and to the rest of the free public," added Netanel.

The Jerusalem Municipality denied any involvement in the decision to change the dancers' outfits.