The first memory I have of my father, Harry S. Allen, sitting me down and telling me the facts of life was when I was 4 or 5. He told me in no uncertain terms that there were three things that one needed to do to live a decent and fully Jewish life: keep kosher,…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Over the weekend, JTA and others reported on a “blacklist of rabbis” maintained by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. The list contains the names of more than 160 rabbis whom the rabbinate does not trust to confirm the Jewish identity of immigrants to Israel. The list, obtained by Itim from the rabbinate after a protracted…
(JTA) — The Israeli Chief Rabbinate has a list of some 160 rabbis it does not trust to confirm the Jewish identities of immigrants. To get married in Israel, immigrants must prove they are Jewish to the Chief Rabbinate, often via a letter by a congregational rabbi attesting to the immigrant’s Jewish identity. This list…
Martina Ragacova had never planned to become the symbol of a growing uprising against Israel’s draconian conversion laws. All this Czech-born woman wanted was to have her conversion recognized so that she could live and work in Israel like any other Jew. Neither did Ragacova have any intention of challenging the Orthodox-run establishment that controls…
Are you Jewish, Israeli and worried you won’t be able to marry under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate? Anat Hoffman has a solution for you. The Women of the Wall leader has put out a call for a cruise ship that would allow Israelis to have extraterritorial weddings. “I am seeking a large used…
Immigrants from the former Soviet Union arrive in Israel. / Getty Images Did you hear about the latest coup for the Reform and Conservative movements in the Knesset? A new piece of legislation that passed the Law Committee today and is ready for voting in a few weeks will apparently bring closer a day when…
A night-time scene in the historic district of Córdoba, Spain. / Josh Nathan-Kazis It’s only been a week since Spain’s cabinet approved a law offering citizenship to Sephardic Jews, but Israelis are already tripping over each other in their race to apply. Between 700 and 800 have sent email inquiries to Maya Weiss-Tamir, an Israeli…
Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Blau speaks at a Jewish school in Berlin. / Getty Images When you package it right, even a plot against pluralism can be made to seem progressive. In Israel, government ministers spanning from left to right have advanced legislation that will end the country’s dual Chief Rabbinate, under which there are two…
100% of profits support our journalism
