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Anthony Weiner, Sext-Happy Lawmaker, Considers Comeback New York Mayor Bid
Former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner, who resigned after tweeting lewd pictures of himself, is considering a run for New York City mayor, in what many see as wide open race for one of the highest-profile offices in the United States. In a lengthy interview with The New York Times magazine, posted online on Wednesday, Weiner…
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Kotel Egalitarian Prayer Plan Set in Motion by Dramatic Western Wall Compromise
A dramatic offer to set up a new egalitarian prayer section at the Western Wall in Jerusalem was met with a no less dramatic willingness to compromise on behalf of all the major religious leaders in the American Jewish community. In a rare show of consensus, activists on the liberal side of the Reform movement…
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David Stav Aims To Oust Haredim From Israeli Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Post
Israel’s Haredim may be on the cusp of losing even more of their power following their exclusion from the new government. If David Stav gets his way, they will no longer control the rabbinate. The self-styled iconoclast is standing in the election for Ashkenazi chief rabbi this summer, and already has the support of several…
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Sharansky To Propose Egalitarian Section at the Kotel
UPDATED TUESDAY APRIL 9, 2013 AT 2:10PM Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, will present a plan today to expand the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem to include a new section for egalitarian prayer to American Jewish religious leaders, the Forward has learned. If implemented, the proposal, a product of months of…
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Syria Withdraws Troops From Golan Heights as Rebel Groups Move In
Syria’s government has withdrawn a significant number of troops from the Golan Heights, raising Western concerns. The redeployment of Syrian troops is the most significant in 40 years, the British daily The Guardian reported. Rebel groups have moved into the area, leading to Israeli fears that the rebels could attack its northern border. “They [the…
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Obama To Ask Congress Again To Pass Gun Control Legislation
President Barack Obama is set to make a fresh plea on Monday for a reluctant Congress to pass new gun control legislation – one of his top domestic policy priorities – as he travels to Connecticut, where December’s school massacre took place. Initial momentum for tougher U.S. gun control laws sought by Obama after the…
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Jewish Republicans Dragged Into GOP Battle Between Tea Party and Moderates
The civil war now engulfing the Republican Party is laying bare a split among Jewish GOP supporters, as well. Some of the party’s biggest Jewish donors are taking the lead in pushing for a more moderate conservative party following the Republicans’ defeat in last year’s presidential election. At the same time, grassroots Jewish supporters, many…
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Transforming Your Diet the Maimonides Way
An 800-year-old nutrition plan could become Israel’s next fad diet. Gil Yosef Shachar, a Jerusalem-based physician, is traveling around Israel spreading the wisdom of Maimonides, or the Rambam, the medieval Jewish philosopher and doctor whose approach to healthful eating has garnered him followers from well beyond the grave. In his writings, the Rambam gave clear…
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Chaim Topol Is More Than Tevye for Sick Jewish and Arab Children
Most people know Chaim Topol as Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.” But to a group of sick Jewish and Arab children in the Galilee, Topol is their biggest cheerleader. Israel’s first international movie star was instrumental in the creation of the Jordan River Village, a camp for children with serious and life-threatening illnesses. He…
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Hit by Sandy, Jewish Congregation in Rockaways Finds Renewed Faith in Trailer
On a recent Friday evening, Shabbat services at the West End Temple in the Rockaways was literally humming. The vibrations weren’t emanating from members immersed in prayer. They came from a diesel generator that powers the 50-foot-long trailer where services are being held since the congregation’s sanctuary suffered severe damage from Hurricane Sandy. Nearly six…
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Passover Kosher Meat Scandal in Los Angeles Latest in String of Mishaps
Less than a day before the start of Passover, the phone rang at the Brooklyn home of Rabbi Yisroel Belsky. On the line were concerned members of the Rabbinical Council of California, a rabbinical association in Los Angeles that provides kosher certification, among other services. The RCC had just discovered that Mike Engelman, the owner…
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