Seth Berkman
By Seth Berkman
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News Orthodox Rabbis Vow To Resist Consent Forms for Controversial Circumcision Rite
The leading association for mohelim who practice a risky oral blood suctioning technique in their circumcisions has vowed not to cooperate with New York City’s new health regulations governing use of the technique, known as metzitzah b’peh. Brooklyn mohel Rabbi Avrohom Cohn, chairman of the American Board of Ritual Circumcision, said his group would not…
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News Parents Face Dilemmas When Jewish Schools Close
In January 2012, Irit Pinkus was shocked to learn that her daughter’s Jewish day school would close at the end of the semester, leaving her and the parents of the school’s other 150 students with a tough decision: where to place their children next year. It’s a decision faced by an increasing number of families….
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Israel News Harlem’s Good Ol’ Days
Video: Nate Lavey Just south of the bustle of Harlem’s famed 125th Street corridor, a mix of brownstones and churches in Harlem’s Mount Morris Park neighborhood prospers today as home to a large working-class black population. But walk down these streets with John T. Reddick, and he will show you the remnants, still-visible, of the…
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News Jews Fume at Inaction on Sandy Aid
The 112th Congress’s failure to bring emergency disaster aid for New York and New Jersey to a vote before adjourning has left scores of synagogues and other places of worship — not to mention thousands of businesses and homeowners — in limbo following Hurricane Sandy. “The word ‘unconscionable’ comes to mind,” said Rabbi Scott Hoffman…
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Fast Forward N.Y. Jewish Groups Raise $5M for Sandy Aid
Jewish organizations in New York have raised more than $5.5 million for Hurricane Sandy relief aid, according to information provided to New York attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman. UJA-Federation of New York reported raising $4,294,190. The Jewish Federation of America raised approximately $1.2 million and B’nai Brith and Jewish Disaster Response Corps reported $39,529 and…
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News Ellis Island Still Closed After Sandy
Ellis Island, the historic point of arrival in the United States for more than 12 million European immigrants, has been closed since Hurricane Sandy hit New York Harbor on October 29, and the damage to its museum and other landmark structures will cost millions in repair expenses and lost income. The National Park Service, which…
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Opinion Lieberman Backs Aid for Sandy Damaged Shuls
In one of his final acts as a lawmaker, Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) will reportedly file a proposed amendment to provide Federal Emergency Management Administration aid to houses of worship that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The American Jewish Committee, which has long opposed federal aid to religious institutions, consistent with the separation of church…
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Israel News BJ Rabbis Offer Another Statement on Palestine
The turmoil appears to be continuing at one of Manhattan’s most prominent synagogues following a public statement by its rabbis embracing the recent United Nations resolution recognizing Palestine as a nonmember observer state. Rabbi Rolando Matalon, one of three co-rabbis at B’nai Jeshurun, read from the pulpit a carefully worded apology for the recent email…
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News Student protesters being deported are not ‘martyrs and heroes,’ says former antisemitism envoy
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News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
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Fast Forward Suspected arsonist intended to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a sledgehammer, investigators say
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Politics Meet America’s potential first Jewish second family: Josh Shapiro, Lori, and their 4 kids
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Fast Forward Brooklyn event with Itamar Ben-Gvir cancelled days before Israeli far-right minister’s US trip
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