A promotional video for an Israeli TV show uploaded in recent hours to social media has sparked outrage for its disrespect towards Jewish religious articles.
In the video, which advertises the Israeli series “The Bar Mitzvah,” a male figure dressed in flamboyant clothing appears to emerge from an ark containing Torah scrolls.
Speaking to haredi newspaper Kikar Hashabbat, Gal Uchovsky, one of the filmmakers behind the series, played down the imagery, while criticizing those taking offense.
“It’s like a synagogue but not a real synagogue G-d forbid, it’s a prop. If you didn’t hate us and fight against us so much, everything would look different. It’s a comedic series, there was no intention to hurt, and you also don’t have to get hurt all the time from everything. I’m Jewish, and it doesn’t seem to me that it hurts me.”
He added, “We do understand that you are likely to get hurt, but your feelings at this stage don’t interest us.”