
Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. He covers Jewish religious organizations, synagogue life, anti-Semitism and the Orthodox world. If you have any tips, you can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aefeldman.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. He covers Jewish religious organizations, synagogue life, anti-Semitism and the Orthodox world. If you have any tips, you can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aefeldman.
After Jews, Muslims and Christians, Jerusalem is now a holy site for one more group: marijuana scientists. A major marijuana research group has picked Jerusalem as the host city for its annual International Symposium on the Cannabinoids in 2021. The International Cannabinoid Research Society, the oldest group devoted to researching the medical and therapeutic benefits…
“El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” The people united will never be defeated! Protesters chanted loudly as police led them away from a public hearing this week on rezoning a portion of Brooklyn’s Broadway Triangle to make room for a controversial new development on a rare slice of available land in the booming borough. Seven…
A Jewish animal welfare group is providing grants for U.S. synagogues to “go vegan” for one year. The Shamayim V’Aretz Institute will donate $5,000 to five synagogues to help offset the costs of only providing food on Shabbat and holidays that contain no animal products whatsoever. “Veganism is one of the fastest-growing trends in America…
Leaders of Jewish LGBTQ organizations slammed President Trump’s decision to ban transgender people from serving in the military as a “despicable” step back for equal rights. Trump shocked the nation by unexpectedly revealing the new policy, which will affect the estimated 6,000 transgender individuals now employed by the armed forces. After consultation with my Generals…
Israel’s first investment fund exclusively for ultra-Orthodox startups is about to close its first round of funding. With major investments from people like the head of Facebook Israel, the fund’s creator, Moshe Friedman, is hopeful it will reach its $5 million goal by August 1st. “We think our $5 million will bring $50 million and…
A California imam is being accused of anti-Semitism after a video of a July 21 sermon in which he called for a war between Jews and Muslims was published on YouTube. Imam Ammar Shahin’s sermon at the Islamic Center of Davis, in Davis, Cali., was in response to the Israeli government’s placement of metal detectors…
Some Jewish parents are cutting out one of Judaism’s oldest traditions: the bris. The bris — the ritual circumcision of Jewish boys at eight days old — goes back to the story of Abraham, who circumcised himself and his firstborn son. But some modern Jewish parents are foregoing the ceremony. “Right now, there is a…
Sean Hannity will skip a prestigious right-wing media award ceremony amid growing backlash to his obsession with conspiracy theories swirling around the 2016 murder of Democratic staffer Seth Rich. According to CNN, Hannity will not be at the conservative Media Research Center’s September gala to receive the William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence in…
100% of profits support our journalism