When Sarah Cohen of Monsey and her husband were arrested for welfare fraud last month they both had to have mug shots taken, and the police asked Sarah, a Chasidic Jew, to remove her sheitel (wig) for her mug shot. Traditionally, Chasidic Jewish women don’t uncover their heads in mixed company, and some don’t uncover their heads except to bathe, so the request and subsequent mug shot have caused quite the controversy. 
Wigging out: good disguise
The issue here is whether the police can force someone who’s accused of a crime to do something against their religious beliefs, and whether the government can allow someone to avoid a legal obligation because of his or her religion.
It’s worth noting that the police department in Monsey does provide kosher meals to those prisoners who request it. But allowing Cohen to keep her wig on is different. Wigs are a fairly typical disguise, and Chasidic women have access to many wig options within the community. While they’re not made in order to conceal a woman’s identity, they certainly can have that effect. Would the police allow someone to leave on a mask? What about a woman wearing a hijab or a jilbab? There have been similar cases with Muslim women, and though the ACLU has filed a few suits, all are still pending. No word yet on whether Cohen plans to sue, but the entire Ramapo PD is undergoing “sensitivity training” in an effort to avoid similar situations in the future, and the officer who ordered who to take off her wig is being “sharply criticized.”
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Can the PoPo order you to take off your sheitel?
No, but the fashion police can!!
jewlicious
Ahem.
And the new spin on this story? The Rampao Police Department (there is no Monsey PD) just hired a female Orthodox cop. LoHud.com is all in a tizzy (372 comments!) because she requested Sabbath off and got it. BUT she can and will work if called in for emergencies. Also, now if Orthodox married female residents of Monsey get arrested for welfare fraud or whatever, they can be processed by one of their own! You can read about it here and don't miss all the crazy comments...
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Who gives a fuck about Jewlicious.com
JewAmongYou
All-Too-Convenient Use of "Jew-Jitsu"
Please excuse me for detecting the odor of rotten gefilte fish in the convenient timing of this "story." Two Chasidim are arrested for "welfare fraud" and suddenly the issue morphs from kosher malfeasance to the religious injustice done the Jewess over having to remove her sheitel for a mugshot!
Quite convenient for the perp's: from criminals to victims at the moment of booking! And what about this gem: "No word yet on whether Cohen plans to sue..." From the angle of this story, The Sheitelcaust would seem to not only nullify and overshadow the real crime committed by this misanthropic couple, but to make THEMthe aggrieved party![Oy, the chutzpah!]
Sorry Sara Cohen, but this Jew ain't buying it. And I sincerely hope that the Chasidic population now gnashing their teeth and rending their sackcloth over the outrage of the misplaced sheitel are doing so out of genuine Halakic indignation, instead of a desire to shield and mitigate the criminal offences of their co-religionists.
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