( CNN ) It is practically an iconic photo by now -- a row of world leaders standing in solidarity next to one another , marching in Paris , united against terrorism . Most of them were men , but some were women , including Angela Merkel , the chancellor of Germany . She was right next to French President Francois Hollande . But ultra-Orthodox Israeli newspaper HaMevaser published a digitally altered front-page image of the leaders with the women removed . Ultra-Orthodox Jews traditionally do n't prefer to show images of women because it 's not considered modest . As Israeli newspaper Haaretz noted , political parties that represent the ultra-Orthodox sector ban women from running for office . But some feel changing the photo of the Paris march went way too far . It was downright `` embarrassing , '' wrote Haaretz 's Allison Kaplan Sommer . The message HaMevaser sent , Kaplan Sommer said , was tantamount to `` denying the fact that in the wider world , beyond the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community , women do stand on the world stage and shape events . '' In addition to Merkel missing from HaMevaser , other women leaders who disappeared from the photo are European Union security and foreign affairs chief Frederica Mogherini and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo . Some took to Twitter to criticize the decision and to share the original and altered pictures . A satirical Irish publication , Waterford Whispers , had a little fun with the story and published the photo from the Paris march showing only the three women and cutting out all the men . It 's not the first time an ultra-Orthodox publication attempted to erase a female politician . In 2011 , New York-based newspaper Di Tzeitung altered a picture to remove then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton out of a famous shot of White House leaders watching the raid that killed Osama bin Laden .
They cut women , including Germany 's Angela Merkel , from front - page pic . Haaretz writer called the move ` ` embarrassing '' and others on social media slammed the move . Ultra - nationalists often eschew showing pictures of women for modesty 's sake .