Community News

This Passover, Hunger Has Many New Faces

By Rebecca Dube

A few weeks ago, Benny Wechsler was speaking to a United Jewish Appeal group in Westchester, N.Y., that makes sandwiches for the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. As director of the council’s kosher food network, Wechsler thanked the group for its help and discussed the growing need for food assistance among struggling middle-class families who have fallen on hard times.Read More

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UJC’s Future at Stake as Local Charities Call for Dramatic Cuts

By Anthony Weiss and Rebecca Spence

United Jewish Communities, the national association of federated Jewish charities, is facing calls from a host of federation leaders for drastic cuts in next year’s budget.Read More

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At a KinkyJews Seder, Pharoah Isn’t the Only One With the Whip

By Gabrielle Birkner

Forget the bitter herbs. When about 100 Jews gather in Brooklyn on April 5 for a pre-Passover Seder, they will pay homage to their enslaved ancestors not with the traditional sinus-clearing horseradish, but by spanking each other with wands of chocolate licorice.Read More

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Pesach Kitniyot Rebels Roil Rabbis As Some Ashkenazim Follow New, Permissive Ruling

By Nathan Jeffay

In Tel Aviv, shortly before Passover, David Cohen was mulling over his holiday menu. “I’m thinking of making sushi,” he said.Read More

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Religious Leaders Avert Death Certificate Delays

By Rebecca Dube

Bowing to pressure from Jewish and Muslim leaders who warned that funerals could be delayed, state lawmakers have tentatively agreed to reject proposed budget cuts that would have drastically reduced funding for medical examiners across New York.Read More

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Satmar-Backed Abuse Bill Excludes Many Adults

By Rebecca Dube

At the urging of the Catholic Church and some Brooklyn Orthodox Jewish leaders, the state legislature has given new life to a bill to address child sexual abuse considered weaker than one favored by groups representing sexual abuse survivors.Read More

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Hikind Retreating On Tough Tactics Against Molesters

By Rebecca Dube

Assemblyman Dov Hikind of Brooklyn, a leading voice in the fight to end child sexual abuse in Orthodox communities, is backing down from some of his previous claims and backing away from one of his most confrontational stands against an alleged pedophile.Read More

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Why is This Haggadah Different From Others?

By Rebecca Dube

Here’s a Passover riddle: When is a Haggadah not Jewish? Answer: When it’s got more Jesus than a matzo has holes.Read More

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Disgruntled Synagogues Hold Back Confrontational Letter

By Anthony Weiss

A coalition of presidents from Conservative synagogues has agreed to refrain from sending a confrontational letter to the movement’s leadership, pending a face-to-face meeting within the next few weeks to discuss the presidents’ concerns.Read More

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Plans To Move L.A. Community Library

By Rebecca Spence

For the past seven years, Larry Adler has made a habit of borrowing books and videos from the Jewish Community Library of Los Angeles. He signs out Jewish cookbooks to feed his love of the culinary arts, religious books to enhance his knowledge of Jewish texts and children’s books to help teach his 11-year-old daughter about Judaism.Read More

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