The Jewish Press was the first frum English paper, I believe, and deserves the credit for getting many interested in Yiddishkeit. They had big gedolim writing halacha columns (like Rav Avraham Steinberg, I believe), and had tales of gedolim which inspire. They had humor sections and were adamantly pro-Israel. They wrote beautiful hespedim on Gedolim a nd gave them the utmost kovod. Arnold Fine’s stories were very cute and entertaining. They had info for shidduchim long before others picked up on the topic. There is nothing wrong in there, and it is pure motzi shem ra when all the frummmies put it down, especially because there is no valid reason for it. There is nothing anti-Torah in there, and the opposite, there are many inspiring parts. I remember My Soul Thirsts by ZA Hilsenrad ZTL which inspired me to spend more years in yeshiva rather than going to college until later.
The Modia, Yated and so on, are anti-Zionist, and often make anti-Zionist statements without giving any reason to explain what is wrong with it. I remember one interview where the interviewee concludes, that now all agree Zionism is no good. What??? Please explain in what way. It is not good we have a Jewish state?
I don’t want to get into an argument about Zionism here, but the point is that it was a foolish statement from an intellectual point of view, since it had no backing and was from out of the blue. At least present your thinking and reasons for your statement.
The second thing, as was mentioned earlier is the fact that no pictures of women are allowed. Why are properly dressed women a problem to see, and can’t they be role models for our daughters. There is no such mesorah. I have looked at many plates of old Haggadas from all periods and locations of klal yisroel’s history and invariably they all have beautiful pictures of Jewish families, men, women, boys and girls all at the seder together. There are numerous other works which show women. This is before the Reform and Haskala. It is from the time of the Rishonim and Acharonim. Look at the Encyclopeida Judaica and you will find tons of full color plates of these old art works. Artscroll had no problem showing the wives of gedolim and Bais Yaakov girls. What kind of business is it that now we have become frummer than all the previous doros, even the Rishonim? I have a book on Shabbos which shows only men at the Shabbos table and getting ready for Shabbos and so on, when in reality, it is the women who do most of these home preparations. It really makes us look like Neanderthals. How can one take them seriously?