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Space to Spare, Reform and Conservative Congregations Turn to Orthodox
(JTA) — Marla Topp of Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie, Ill., doesn’t need survey data to tell her that Reform Judaism is in decline and Orthodox Judaism is growing. She has to look no further than her own synagogue. A couple of months ago, the temple began renting out unused classroom space to an Orthodox…
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Yeshiva U. Victims Stare Down School’s Lawyers in Showdown Over $380M Suit
It was a landmark moment in the long-running Yeshiva University sexual abuse case. For the first time, former Y.U. high school students who say they were abused confronted lawyers for Y.U. in court as their attorney argued against a motion to dismiss their case. Flanked by family members, about a dozen of the former students…
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Coney Island’s Sea Gate Still Defenseless After Sandy — By Its Own Choice
Pinny Dembitzer bounced his SUV past the “For Sale” signs lining Sea Gate’s Atlantic Avenue, slamming his way through potholes in this gated community on the western tip of Coney Island. Dembitzer apologized for the rough ride. His car, like most cars in the neighborhood, replaced one that was destroyed in October 2012, when Hurricane…
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Rabbi Abraham Skorka’s Dialogue With Future Pope Francis Started With Soccer
A rabbi and a priest walk into an independence day celebration…. That, literally, is how one the most high-profile interfaith friendships in the world today started. More specifically, the bond that Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Argentina cemented with the man who would become Pope Francis began as so many male friendships do: over sports. It…
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Telling Story of Job at Sandy-Ravaged Synagogue in Rockaways
Sandy Anniversary West End Temple from Viola Gad on Vimeo. A large, empty space looms behind the makeshift wooden stage at the West End Temple in the Rockaways section of Queens, N.Y. A year after Sandy struck, there is still no heat. Electrical cables protrude from the raw unfinished walls and a plastic sheet covers…
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Asher Lopatin Gets Less-Than-Warm Welcome From Orthodox World
Rabbi Asher Lopatin is feeling a little “roughed up.” It’s October 17, less than a fortnight since Lopatin’s official installation as president of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a liberal Orthodox rabbinical school in the Bronx, and his attempts to reach out to New York’s Orthodox community are not going well. Sitting in a cramped office at…
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A Year After Sandy, Brighton Beach Struggles To Get Back on Feet
On a warm Saturday in early October, Emily Axelrod subtly smiled as she surveyed the calm ocean off Brighton Beach, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in south Brooklyn. “Now it’s gorgeous,” the 66-year-old Ukrainian immigrant said as she strolled down Riegelmann Boardwalk. But life was dramatically different a year ago, when Hurricane Sandy hit. The Oct….
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Medical Ethics Program Takes Aim at BRCA ‘Jewish’ Gene Mutation
After actress Angelina Jolie announced her decision to have a double mastectomy back in May, it didn’t take long for synagogues and Shabbat tables in the Jewish community to buzz with a new conversation. Her choice to have her breasts surgically removed touched a raw nerve within the community: while one in every 800 individuals…
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Jewish Pimp From Brownsville Faces Long Arm of Justice
1913 •100 years ago Verdict Awaited in Pimping Trial After days of deliberation, the jury in the trial of Avrom Belkin was still unable to come to a decision. On trial for forcing a young woman into prostitution, Minsk-born Belkin claimed he was innocent. Annie Jacobs, the girl in question, testified against him and described…
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Jewish ‘Humans of New York’
For the past three years, Brandon Stanton, 29, has spent several hours every day roaming through New York City and taking pictures — of strangers. Stanton posts them on his Facebook page, which currently boasts well over a million followers. He often adds witty captions which stem from conversations with the people he photographs. The…
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Breaking Down What Iran Is Really Putting on the Table
What kind of nuclear proposal is Iran offering? So far, nothing publicly. The only agreement reached in the recent opening round of nuclear talks between the Islamic republic and the international powers negotiating with it was to not reveal the contents of their discussions. But that agreement has been kept only in part. According to…
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