Ads abound on Jaffa Street, Jerusalem
Ads abound on Jaffa Street, JerusalemIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Jerusalem Police plan to increase vigilance to prevent vandals from defacing ads in Jerusalem that feature women.

Mayor Nir Barkat expressed his concern over the issue to Jerusalem Police District Commander Niso Shaham on Sunday, telling him the destruction of posters and ads featuring women must be stopped.

“We need to eradicate this phenomenon, “ Barkat said in a statement issued to the media. “It is our duty to make sure that advertisers interested in using pictures of women on billboards throughout the city will be able to do so without fear of vandalism.”

The issue is raising concerns over a possible drop in advertising -- and thus revenue -- for the city. Several companies have said they chose not to use ads depicting women due to past incidents in which their posters and ads were defaced.

Others are not discussing the matter, but are quietly simply rearranging their ads. One such company is Honigman, a national clothing chain that has cropped the photo of model Sandy Bar so that only her arm and purse are seen in the shot that adorns ads in Jerusalem. Elsewhere in Israel, the model is seen clad for the winter season in a wool knit outfit.

It is believed that the vandalism is being perpetrated by a small group whose members follow extremely stringent interpretations of modesty and object to being unwillingly forced to see women models featured in public advertisements..