Is Smurfette an offensive sex symbol? According to community members of  Bnei Brak, an ultra Orthodox enclave in Israel, the answer is yes and they’ve demanded that posters be censored for the soon-to-be released Smurfs movie.

While I respect everyone’s point of view and understand that some folks have strict religious sensibilities and extreme views on modesty, this strikes me as pure insanity. Though it should be obvious, it bears stating anyway: Smurfette is not a real person! She is a cartoon character in a movie made for children. Nobody with a reasonable sense of decency would object to anything about her.

Maybe it’s her sleeveless dress or high heels that bug them. Perhaps it’s the mere fact that she’s female (even a fake female). Whatever it is, it’s a simple case of faith turned into fanaticism. When religion is practiced as part of one’s life, as opposed to consuming one’s entire life, it is healthy, normal, and good. When an individual becomes a slave to the Laws, it’s very, very unhealthy and promotes an atmosphere where abuse can—and often does—flourish.

With anti-Semitism on the rise world wide, never ending problems with our Arab neighbors, and global terrorist threats, surely there are more important issues to contend with than a cartoon being dress provocatively!