Seattle skyline. Photo: wiki commons.

There is a Democratic country in the Middle East which passed a groundbreaking law – and of course received minimal media attention.

The Middle East:  Where by and large women are subordinate citizens.  Where laws against marital rape and spousal abuse are absent.  Where “honor” killings are a daily fact of life, and segregation is accepted and “normal.” In many Arab countries, women can’t drive, vote, or in some countries leave the house alone.

Yet, today I find myself waiting for liberals worldwide to celebrate Israel – and the silence is deafening.  The “right-wing” Parliament of Israel passed a law by which abnormally skinny models cannot appear in the media.  The law bans ads (and from the “catwalk”) if they “look underweight” or if their body-mass index falls below the World Health Organization’s definition of underweight. If images are doctored to make models appear thinner, the new Israeli law requires disclosure.

In a world where millions of women are afflicted by eating disorders, and women attempt to reach an unattainable status of beauty, it’s yet another showing of Israel as a Western, liberal democracy – and another reason that a PR Agency for Israel should be making noise to show how as the Knesset Member who introduced the bill, Danny Danon said, “life is more important than money.” Where is the liberal worldwide praise for Israel on this issue? Why is it that the left is so morally bankrupt and there is such a double-standard against Israel?

As The Seattle Times reports: The city of Seattle commission that represents gays canceled a recent reception at Seattle City Hall for a visiting delegation of Israeli gay leaders, as they were “outraged by Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.” Seattle’s taxpayers are openly discriminating against visiting Jews on the basis of their country of origin. Could anyone imagine if any city would dare to boycott Africans? Or Mexicans? But Israelis are ok to boycott?

As I have written previously, Israel is a champion of gay rights – surrounded by Israel’s neighbors, where homosexuals can be hanged.  As far as any decent person should be concerned, in permitting this action the City of Seattle took a view which is clearly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel.

Some folks to contact to let them know this is unacceptable:

Seattle Mayor: Mike McGinn, (206) 684-4000 – http://www.facebook.com/MayorMcGinn

Council President: Sally Clark, 206-684-8802 – sally.clark@seattle.gov

Ronn Torossian is the CEO of 5WPR, and Author of PR Book “For Immediate Release