Why Does No One Care About Anti-Semitic Attacks Against Hasidim?
An article can scarcely be written about Crown Heights without referring to ‘Jews and blacks clashing’ - but it’s false
What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Crown Heights
The gentrification of Crown Heights is an ill that impacts the entire neighborhood — including Hasidic Jews, Mordechai Lightstone writes.
Orthodox Belief in God and Faith Is Spreading — Got a Problem With That?
The Pew study shows Orthodox values like belief in God and adherence to custom are spreading. Mordechai Lightstone asks why any Jew would have a problem with that — even if some evangelical Christians feel the same.
Stop Using Brooklyn Fire To Stoke Anti-Orthodox Hatred
The fire that killed seven Brooklyn children over Shabbat provoked another blaze — the heated and sometimes cruel attacks against the whole ultra-Orthodox way of life.
Kalamazoo Police Thought My Lulav Was a Sword
Why was Mordechai Lightstone harassed by police in Kalamazoo, Michigan? He was shaking a lulav, not ‘brandishing a sword in some sort of ritual’!
YA Romance and 'Hasidsploitation'
In her new young adult novel, ‘Like No Other,’ Una Lamarche explores the taboo relationship between a West Indian boy and a Hasidic girl in Crown Heights. Sadly, the story is rife with mistakes and factual errors.
Shabbat Shalom, Comic Con!
What’s it like to host Shabbat dinner at Comic Con? It starts with meeting Jewverine, progresses to a sip of He’Brew beer, and ends with an in-depth discussion of Kabbalah.
The Perks of Being a Lubavitcher
The Lubavitcher Rebbe died 20 years ago today, but the profound impact he made still ripples through the Jewish world. Mordechai Lightstone has some ideas as to why.
Why #BringBackOurBoys Is the Perfect Hashtag
Mordechai Lightstone argues that Israel’s #BringBackOurBoys doesn’t take away from Nigeria’s #BringBackOurGirls — on the contrary, it adds to it.
Why Bother Converting to ‘Cat GIF’ Judaism?
If getting someone to join the tribe is as easy as forwarding a cat GIF, what’s the point? Mordechai Lightstone says there’s a reason why it’s hard to convert to Judaism.