(JTA) — The leader of a fringe haredi Orthodox sect suspected of abusing children has drowned in a river in Mexico, local media are reporting. Israeli-born Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans reportedly was found drowned in a river in the Mexican state of Chiapas on Friday. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement issued Saturday…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu read from the Bible during his weekly Cabinet meeting to illustrate the Jewish people’s and Israel’s connection to Hebron, two days after a UN committee passed a resolution calling the Cave of the Patriarchs there a Palestinian heritage site. The premier read from Genesis 23:16-19, which recounts…
(JTA) — The Israeli Chief Rabbinate has a list of some 160 rabbis it does not trust to confirm the Jewish identities of immigrants. To get married in Israel, immigrants must prove they are Jewish to the Chief Rabbinate, often via a letter by a congregational rabbi attesting to the immigrant’s Jewish identity. This list…
WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — The prosecutor’s office in the western Poland city of Wroclaw issued an indictment against former priest Jacek Międlar for “public incitement to hatred based on religious and national differences.” He could face up to 2 years in prison. On Nov. 11, 2016, during Polish Independence Day, Wroclaw hosted the “March of Patriots.” According…
(JTA) — Some 160 rabbis, including several prominent American Orthodox leaders, appear on a list of rabbis whom Israel’s haredi Orthodox-dominated Chief Rabbinate does not trust to confirm the Jewish identities of immigrants. Rabbis from 24 countries, including the United States and Canada, are on the list. In addition to Reform and Conservative rabbis, the…
JERUSALEM (JTA) – Liberal American Jews are feeling thwarted in their years-long campaign for the right to pray as they wish at the Western Wall. Long frustrated that the plaza in front of the wall is run as an Orthodox synagogue, they were doubly incensed when Israel’s political establishment scrapped an agreement that would have boosted access to…
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Brazil’s newly-appointed ambassador to Israel has praised the Israeli duo Static & Ben El Tavori, whose latest hit, with a title in Portuguese, has taken the Jewish state by storm. Titled “Tudo Bom,” or “Everything is good” in Portuguese, the song has become a summer hit in Israel. The lyrics, full…
(JTA) — London’s Muslim mayor wants Great Britain to make support for all factions of Hezbollah illegal. Sadiq Khan said in a statement Thursday that he plans to request that the government outlaw support for the political wing of Hezbollah, the Jewish Chronicle reported. Support for the terrorist wing of the the Lebanon-based militia and Iranian…
Endina Vance shared a photo on Facebook of her infant daughter with a newly pierced dimple with a stud. “I’m the parent, she is MY CHILD, I will do whatever I want!! I make all of her decisions until she’s 18, I made her, I own her!,” the caption read. Soon, the post had racked…
At his funeral on Thursday Aaron Rajman, a professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter who was shot and killed in a home invasion on Monday, was mourned by Chabad rabbis and MMA fighters alike. The “matzoh brawler,” who had turned 25 in June, led a life of faith, friendliness and, of course, fighting. “He didn’t have…
(JTA) — The Egyptian government reportedly has approved a $22 million plan to restore a 160-year-old synagogue in Alexandria. The Ministry of Antiquities’ Project Sector on Wednesdsay approved the funds for restoring and developing the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, according to the head of the Islamic and Coptic Monuments Department, al-Saeed Helmy Ezzat, The Egypt Independent reported from…
