By Paul Berger
At a recent celebration in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, World War II veterans who served in the Soviet armed forces held a low-key gathering; meanwhile, in the FSU, their comrades in arms were being feted with grandiose parades.
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By Neil deMause
When federal prosecutors charged New York State Senator Carl Kruger with taking more than $1 million in bribes in March, few were surprised to see seven others indicted with him. The colorful Kruger, who represents the heavily Jewish Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brighton Beach, Gravesend and Sheepshead Bay, has long attracted media attention for high-profile deal-making among a wide network of politicians and lobbyists.
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By Josh Nathan-Kazis
New York State’s highest court has agreed to hear arguments in a case aimed at shedding light on the failed prosecution of alleged Orthodox child molester Avrohom Mondrowitz.Read More
By Nathan Guttman
Israel’s first large-scale foray into Holocaust-era Jewish property restitution is ruffling some feathers within the Jewish establishment and among Eastern European countries. The government of Israel, in cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel, recently announced the launch of Project HEART, the most robust attempt yet to document and pursue Jewish assets lost during World War II in Eastern Europe. Many of the losses were in Poland, which was home to Europe’s largest Jewish community before the Holocaust.
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By Elana Maryles Sztokman
Kaya Stern-Kaufman is graduating from rabbinical school this spring, but she says she will not always be called “rabbi.” Instead, the 47-year-old mother of two will also use the title “rabba,” making her the first woman to specifically choose this Hebrew feminized version of “rabbi” as a preferred moniker.
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By Elana Maryles Sztokman
Kaya Stern-Kaufman is graduating from rabbinical school this spring, but she will not always be called a “rabbi.” Instead, the 47-year-old mother of two will also use the title “rabba,” making her the first woman to specifically choose this Hebrew feminized version of “rabbi” as a preferred moniker.
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By Donald Snyder
Izzeldin Abuelaish, the Gazan doctor who lost four members of his family when an Israeli rocket destroyed his house during Operation Cast Lead, used a medical analogy to warn against hating those who cause us great harm. “Hatred is a chronic disease,” Abuelaish told a group of 60 people who had gathered at Central Connecticut State University to hear him speak about the tragedy and his new memoir, “I Shall Not Hate.”
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By Patricia Simms
How was the special seventh-night Seder at the University of Wisconsin’s Hillel Foundation different from all other Seders? Well to start with, the plague of boils became exploding landfills and destroyed wetlands defacing the earth. The plague of locusts, featuring insects traveling in a swarm? The symbol of a state public transportation system pulverized.
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By Michael Orbach
A landmark conviction of a prominent member of Brooklyn’s ultra-Orthodox community for sexual abuse faces possible reversal following the indictment of man charged with having bribed a witness to testify against the abuser.Read More
By Ben Sales
Just weeks before starting his year as a fellow at Yeshivat Hadar, an egalitarian Judaic learning program for adults, Itamar Landau moved in with his girlfriend. The fellowship demanded that Landau keep kosher and observe the restrictions of the Sabbath. The couple agreed to separate milk and meat in their shared kitchen and to refrain from activities such as driving on Saturdays as they grew accustomed to sharing a bed.
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Cleveland Kidnapping, Elizabeth Smart and Us
Tracing the Jewish Origins of the Holy Ghost
Ethical Kosher Seal Stalls Amid Orthodox Opposition
Baby Boomers’ Rocky Road to Jewish Love
Rama Burshtein Offers Rare Glimpse of Orthodox World
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