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2 Mohels Banned After Infants Contract Herpes in Circumcision Rite
New York City has banned two mohels from performing a controversial circumcision rite after they were suspected of infecting babies with herpes. But the city’s health department will not reveal their names. Five infants have contracted herpes since September 2012, when the health department passed a regulation requiring mohels to get written consent from parents…
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Flamboyant First as Jewish Boat Floats in Amsterdam Gay Pride Canal Fest
(JTA) — Its passengers included celebrities, a rabbi and revelers in biblically themed costumes, but the Jewish boat at Amsterdam’s gay pride parade stood out for more than just its riders. Following a west-to-east course along the Dutch capital’s Prinsengracht canal on Saturday along with dozens of similarly flamboyant vessels, the Jewish boat was the only…
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Taxonomy of the Sheitel
When I was 17, a matchmaker introduced me to my future husband. My family and I knew it was an auspicious match from the get-go: The boy and I were both Satmar Hasidism; we came from the same town, Kiryas Joel; we were socialized in similar circles, and we observed the same religious rules. But…
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Did Germany Help Save Palestine’s Jews During World War I?
(Haaretz) – “The war had already had an impact on Palestine. Not a single gunshot had yet been heard, but hundreds of lives had already been claimed by the contagious diseases introduced by the Turkish forces. The crisis had only just begun, and the ‘sick man’ (Turkey) had already demonstrated its state of rottenness, its…
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The Bukharian Wedding Singer
The Yuhan believes he might be Bukharian Jewry’s last great hope. “Assimilation will kill us,” Yuhan said. “We are drowning, but I still want to take a last grip of air.” Bukharian Jews held on to their traditions among the Muslim populations of Central Asia for more than 1,000 years. But maintaining Bukharian culture in…
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What Will Happen Now That Hamas Has Captured Israeli Soldier Hadar Goldin
(JTA) — Now that Hamas appears to have achieved one of the central goals of its confrontation with Israel, the capture of a live Israeli soldier, a number of things are likely to follow. Hamas is going to trumpet its operation as a success, and that assertion will reach receptive ears among Palestinians. With thousands…
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Will Rabbi David Saperstein’s Departure Mean Watershed Change at the RAC?
The Religious Action Center, Reform Judaism’s lobbying arm in Washington — and an enduring mainstay of liberalism in the capital — is about to undergo a seminal change. Rabbi David Saperstein, the center’s voluble longtime director and chief legal counsel, is packing his bags. Nominated by President Obama on July 28 to be America’s ambassador…
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Belgian Doctor Refuses To Treat Jewish Patient in Spat Over Gaza
A Belgian physician who refused to treat a Jewish woman with a fractured rib suggested she visit Gaza to get rid of the pain. The physician made the remark on Wednesday while manning a medical hotline in Flanders, Belgium’s Flemish region, whose capital, Antwerp, has a sizeable Orthodox Jewish population, the local Jewish monthly Joods…
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Margot Adler, Witty NPR Correspondent, Put the Witch in Jewish
When Margot Adler, the longtime Manhattan-based National Public Radio correspondent, succumbed to cancer this week at the age of 68, I thought back to the mid-1970’s when she worked at the left-leaning radio station WBAI-FM. I was a cub reporter there, and when a clash between management and producers took the station off the air…
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Can I Survive Without the Tribe in Goyish Midwest?
The Seesaw is a new kind of advice column in which a a broad range of columnists will address the real life issues faced by interfaith couples and families. Join the discussion by commenting on this post, sharing it on Facebook or following the Forward on Twitter. And keep the questions coming. You can email…
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How Much Should Non-Members Pay for A Plot in Synagogue Cemetery?
Ed Kass’s adult daughter Nina committed suicide in Michigan on New Year’s Day. Ed Kass flew in from California to bury her, and to mourn. He knew that his daughter wanted to be buried near her grandparents, in a cemetery belonging to a nearby synagogue in Toledo, Ohio, called Congregation Etz Chayim. No one in…
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