Seth Berkman
By Seth Berkman
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Opinion Is Modern Orthodoxy the True Orthodoxy?
On Thursday night, Israel Prize Winner Rabbi Daniel Sperber gave a lecture at the Jewish Center in New York City on “Why Modern Orthodoxy is True Orthodoxy.” Sperber, a Talmud scholar at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, provided a thorough history of Orthodox Judaism before noting the differences between modern Orthodoxy and ultra-Orthodoxy, emphasizing that modern…
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News Beating Highlights Orthodox Split With Police
Jewish leaders’ reaction to a video of New York police beating a young man resisting arrest recently in an Orthodox-sponsored center highlighted a complex reality about the community’s relations with law enforcement. For many, the police are seen as a crucial source of protection from threatening neighbors, but also as a force whose conduct when…
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Fast Forward Activists Blast Mindy Meyer Over Elephant
Animal rights activists blasted Mindy Meyer for bringing an elephant to a fundraising event for her Brooklyn state Senate campaign. A spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Meyer, the 22-year-old Orthodox Jewish law student, should have considered the possibility that the pachyderm “suffered greatly” to make her gimmicky photo-op a success….
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The Schmooze The Top 10 Jewish Literary Scandals
The controversial works of authors Maurice Herzog and Binjamin Wilkomirski are not the only cases of Jewish writers or subjects that have faced scrutiny for allegedly embellished projects. From inflated Holocaust tales to fake autobiographies, Jewish authors and subjects have been at the center of some of the most heated literary debates. Earlier this year,…
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News Circumcision Rite Goes Unregulated Outside New York
As New York City health authorities and ultra-Orthodox groups clash over metzitzah b’peh, officials in other cities are making no effort to regulate the risky oral suction technique sometimes used during ritual circumcision. In fact, unlike in New York City, health authorities elsewhere often have no mandate to monitor the incidence of the herpes strain…
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Opinion The 1 Billion User Man
Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg is proud to be a 1 billion user man. After the social network hit the 10-digit mark for users, Zuckerberg said he was “humbled” by the power of connecting poeople. “Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life,”…
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Opinion Jewish Twitter-Sphere Abuzz Over Veep Debate
What’s the use of a spin room when we have social media? Last night, the Twitterverse turned its eyes towards the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. You’ve probably already heard all of the “malarkey” from partisans representing both parties, but here’s a look at the lighter side of last night’s important…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Sue Over Circumcision Rite Forms
A coalition of New York City ultra-Orthodox organizations and leaders have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a new requirement by the city’s Board of Health that an informed consent form be signed before performing metzitzah b’peh, direct oral-genital suction, after circumcision. “Not only is the Department of Health wrong about metzitzah b’peh, it is trying…
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