Nathan Jeffay
By Nathan Jeffay
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News A Sex Scandal Splits Orthodox Zionist World Between Silence and Action
Israel’s influential Orthodox Zionists have divided into two camps following a sexual-abuse scandal involving one of their most renowned and charismatic leaders, stoking fears for the future of rabbinic authority. Takana, a rabbinic forum established in 2003 to clamp down on sexual misconduct by Orthodox educators, went public February 15 with allegations that Mordechai “Moti”…
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The Schmooze Israelis Drink More Alcohol, Eat More American Food
We may be in the midst of an economic crisis, but it seems there’s at least one good business to be in. Food imports to Israel are growing out of proportion to the overall growth of the Israeli food market. The Israeli food market grew by 2.3% in 2008, to $14.4 billion. But food imports…
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Life Israel’s North Is 53% Arab
While the international community is, for understandable reasons, fixated on the population balance between Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem, a demographic war is being fought in a lower-profile part of Israel — the north. Zionist groups have long been encouraging residents of central Israel and new immigrants to move to the north in a bid…
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Life Israeli Arabs Lose Enthusiasm for National Service
Two years ago, a Knesset panel discussed the possibility that Israel’s Arabs — who are currently exempt from any national service — could perform civic service in schools, hospitals and other non-political institutions that need volunteers. The polling at the time was fascinating in revealing a gulf between leaders and their constituents. Three quarters of…
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Life Offbeat Israel: Blessings for Pensions
In this financial climate, investments are pretty unpredictable. In fact, one could say — God knows what is a safe investment. So why not get God on your side? That is exactly what the Harel Group, Israel’s largest investment and insurance company, has attempted to do. Earlier this month, Haredi media report, Rabbi Yosef Shalom…
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News New Israel Fund Critics Plan New Moves in the Knesset Against the Charity
A recently aborted Knesset proposal to investigate whether the largest financial supporter of Israeli human rights groups is subversively anti-Israel is merely the opening salvo planned against the New Israel Fund in Israel’s parliament. With support from several Knesset members, Im Tirtzu, the group that sparked the Knesset investigation move, wants to stop Israelis, who…
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Life Do Israelis and Their Politicians Disagree on the ‘Bi-National’ Issue?
So, it’s a year since the general election that resulted in the current Israeli government. Are Israelis happy with the outcome? How would they vote today? If you cast your mind back a year, the now-ruling Likud didn’t actually “win” the election — a fact the whole world seems to have forgotten. The largest party…
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News Jewish in Tel Aviv, Gentile in Ashkelon
In Tel Aviv, where she works, Alina Serjukov is Jewish. In Ashkelon, where she lives, she’s considered a gentile. Alina discovered her strange predicament in the run-up to her January 14 wedding, when she and her husband attempted to register their upcoming marriage with the local rabbinate. But the official rabbi in Ashkelon refused to…
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