Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to reassure Diaspora Jewish leaders that redesign plans remain on track for the Western Wall plaza that will allow greater scope there for non-Orthodox prayer services. In a June 27 meeting with Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism and with Natan Sharansky, head of the…
In this week’s Reporters Roundtable podcast, host Josh Nathan-Kazis is joined by Forward contributing editor Jay Michaelson to discuss why the recent Supreme Court decisions are mixed blessings. Then, Liam Hoare calls in to discuss his recent report on the Jews of Kosovo. Finally, Johnna Kaplan tells the fascinating story of why a town in…
It’s billed as “a friendly message to camp summer staff.” But the six-minute video, targeting Orthodox summer camps, is far from amicable. “This is your first and final warning,” Meyer Seewald threatens camp counselors. “If you touch a child even once you have destroyed him for the rest of his life.” “We will make sure…
Pamela Geller, the controversial anti-Islam blogger and activist infamous for her staunch criticism and denigration of Islam, has been banned from entering the United Kingdom by Home Secretary Theresa May. In a two-page letter which Geller uploaded onto her blog, Atlas Shrugs, the Home Office informed Geller that has been “excluded from the UK” on…
As the clock ticks toward the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act next year, Jewish federations, the largest Jewish stakeholders on the issue, are mobilizing their members to ensure that the historic health care reform does not hurt funding for communal health care institutions. Depending on how it is implemented, the legislation, Jewish leaders…
Rabbi Mark Diamond stood on the border with Mexico on a brisk February day, alongside the Rev. Alexei Smith of the Catholic Archdiocese, the Rev. Mary Glasspool of the Episcopal Diocese and a host of clergy from Presbyterian, Methodist and United Church of Christ ministries. All of them peered through the corrugated steel wall at…
The Supreme Court’s June 25 decision striking down key elements of a longstanding law protecting minority voting rights touched a chord with the Jewish community which has strongly supported the law although its direct impact on Jewish voters has been marginal. Jewish organizations decried the court’s 5-to-4 ruling, which deemed part of the 1965 Voting…
When Miss Israel, Yityish Aynaw, entered a Solomon Schechter Day School prekindergarten class, in New Milford, N.J., a caretaker excitedly asked the children, “Do you know where she’s from?” “Africa!” one confident little girl shouted. The adult quickly corrected the 3-year-old, explaining that Aynaw is in fact from “Eretz Israel.” The little girl’s reaction demonstrated…
Video: Nate Lavey When a recent exposé unmasked a 94-year-old Minneapolis resident as the commander of a Nazi-led unit and as an SS officer during World War II, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi hunter faced a vexing dilemma: Who should be bumped off the center’s “Most Wanted War Criminals” list next year to make…
Sadly, between Shavuot (May 15) and Rosh Hashanah (September 5) there is a shortage of Jewish holidays. Sure, there’s Tisha B’Av (July 15), a day to recall the destruction of the First and Second Temples and other Jewish tragedies. But who wants to throw a party on a fast day? Tu B’Av, the Israeli equivalent…
A new tax proposal submitted to Congress could bring new federal subsidies to poor Orthodox Jewish families with four or more children. The bill, introduced in early June by Democratic New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, would extend the Earned Income Tax Credit, a tax subsidy for poor families. The current program provides larger benefits for…
