Lonely-hearts Too Strong In Israel? (Press, 29 August 1981)

In 1981, a growing concern among Israel's religious authorities emerged regarding the content of lonely-hearts columns in major newspapers like "Maariv" and "Yedioth Ahronoth." These columns, which traditionally featured more conservative advertisements for romantic companionship, began to be populated by more explicit and provocative requests, including offers for partner-swapping, sadomasochism, and prostitution. Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren voiced his discontent, urging the two leading newspapers to implement censorship to curtail the presence of such advertisements. While "Maariv" responded positively to the call for censorship, indicating a commitment to filtering out explicit content and avoiding advertisements with personal contact information, "Yedioth Ahronoth" had yet to make a decision on whether to comply. Rabbi Goren's aide, Zalman Kroitner, highlighted the concerns of citizens who found the recent advertisements offensive, reporting that while the authorities did not engage with the content themselves, they were receiving numerous complaints. The nature of the advertisements had markedly shifted from the more subdued requests seeking serious relationships to increasingly bold listings that included offers from "pretty soldiers" seeking remuneration for companionship and "married couples" looking for additional partners. This change mirrored the liberal trends taking hold in Israel during that time. As a response to the surge in such content, newspapers began to segment their lonely-hearts columns, differentiating between more traditional matchmaking advertisements (shidduchim) and those seeking more casual acquaintanceships (hereruyot). At the same time, the weekly magazine "Ha'ir" distinguished itself by openly embracing and publishing advertisements that catered to alternative lifestyles, including threesomes and other non-traditional romantic arrangements. Editor Meir Schnitzer expressed a firm stance against the Rabbinate's requests for censorship, arguing that individuals should be able to pursue their desires as long as they provided their names and contact details. Overall, the evolving nature of classified advertisements in Israeli media during this period highlighted a tension between the liberalising societal norms and the conservative values upheld by the country's religious authorities, sparking an ongoing debate about freedom of expression and the limits of content in public forums.

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