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In Victory for ‘Chained’ Wives, Court Upholds Orthodox Prenuptial Agreement
For the first time, a state court has affirmed the constitutionality of a Modern Orthodox-sponsored prenuptial agreement meant to protect agunot — Jewish women “chained” by husbands who refuse to grant them a religious divorce. The agunah in this case, Rachel Light, may even be eligible to demand more than $100,000 from her husband under…
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The Ascension of Ed Koch
Much has been and will be written about former New York City mayor Ed Koch, who died February 1 at the age of 88. He was such a New Yorker, and such a Jew. My contemporaries who came of age in the 1970s and ’80s will no doubt remember his nasal voice, his Yiddishisms, his…
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Guns in Israel, Textbooks in Palestine
In this week’s Reporters Roundtable podcast, host Josh Nathan-Kazis is joined by Forward reporter Nathan Guttman to discuss Israel’s relationship with guns and if it could serve as a model for the US. Then, Deputy Culture Editor Naomi Zeveloff stops by to discuss why a recent study comparing Palestinian and Israeli textbooks is so controversial.
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4 Palestinian Women Get Pregnant With Jailed Hubbies’ Sperm
Four Palestinian women who had the sperm of their husbands smuggled out of Israeli jails reportedly are pregnant. Dr. Salim Abu Khaizaran, a fertlity doctor at the Razan Medical Center in the West Bank city of Nablus, said Thursday that other insemination attempts had failed, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported. “We don’t intervene and…
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Recalling Ed Koch, New York’s Favorite (Off-Color) Yiddish-Speaking Mayor
A chilly rain was no obstacle for the crowd that poured into the Museum of Modern Art on January 29 for a sneak-preview screening of Neil Barsky’s cleverly crafted documentary about former New York City mayor Edward Koch, who died of congestive heart failure just three days later. Guests included a slew of mayoral candidates:…
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Repair the World’s New CEO David Eisner Boosts Volunteer Funding
Jewish not-for-profits are cutting back on pricey volunteering trips, but the new CEO of the organization charged with boosting these programs insists the field is still growing. David Eisner, a former corporate executive, took over the leadership of Repair the World in early January. He arrives as a handful of major Jewish organizations, including Hillel,…
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Dazzling Torah Bells Spark Legal Battle for Touro Synagogue and Shearith Israel
Within a matter of months, the congregation at Touro Synagogue will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s oldest Jewish house of worship. But the members of Congregation Jeshuat Israel, who have prayed at the Newport, R.I., building for generations, may have to celebrate outside. That’s because an argument over a dazzling pair of silver Torah…
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Orthodox Jewish Groups Exploit E-Rate Library Subsidy Program
Down a gritty dead-end alley in ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn, past a loading dock and a couple of dumpsters, a set of stairs leads up to a small room with bare walls and a dozen computers. The plaque on the door at Kollel L’Horauh calls the room a library. As a library, it has received $135,000 in…
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Max Kampelman, Voice for Soviet Jewry, Evolved But Never Changed
Max Kampelman, who died on January 25 at the age of 92, was lauded often as one of the great men of our times for his role as chief U.S. arms control negotiator in the Reagan administration. He won no less praise for his diplomatic role in enabling the emigration of hundreds of thousands of…
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An Old Dog’s New Tricks
When I was a little girl, there were things as clear as sunlight, as the sea God had split just for the Jews. One of those things was that dogs were despicable creatures. They were scary and dirty, with teeth like knives, and paws with claws, ripping flesh off bone, the way they’d done to…
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Brooklyn College Blasted for Sponsoring Boycott Israel Event
All of New York City’s Democratic mayoral candidates and a handful of congressmen have asked a public college in Brooklyn to withdraw its political science department’s co-sponsorship of a panel discussion on the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel. In a January 31 letter, the congress members and mayoral candidates decried the department’s…
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