Haredi
The Latest
-
Opinion Is WhatsApp Now ‘Hasidic Friendly’?
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis gather to condemn the internet in 2012 / Josh Nathan-Kazis A Forward tipster texted us this morning to report an odd spam message he’d received on his phone. Sent from a Spanish phone number, the spam read: “Check out WhatsApp Messenger for your smartphone. Hasidic friendly! Download it today…” Last year, I reported…
-
Opinion How Ancient Circumcision Rite Sparked Modern Schism
Galen and Hippocrates depicted in a 12th century mural/ Wikimedia Commons. The tradition of metzitzah b’peh goes back to biblical times but has created a modern-day dilemma for religiously observant Jews. New York City officials linked the practice to 17 cases of infant herpes since 2000, of whom two died. In the latest development, the…
-
News New York City Changes Policy on Controversial Circumcision Rite
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio scored a political victory February 24 when administration officials announced the city’s intention to scrap current regulation of a controversial circumcision rite. Ultra-Orthodox leaders, who represent a powerful voting bloc in the city, welcomed the announcement, hailing it as a victory for religious freedom. But it remains to…
-
Opinion Let’s Get Over Our Non-Orthodox Inferiority Complex
When I was in high school, I stopped wearing my kippah. I felt myself drifting away from the ultra-Orthodox community of my childhood and the Modern Orthodoxy my parents tried to model for me at home. I stopped wearing my kippah because I wanted to disaffiliate from the Orthodox Jews that filled New York City…
-
Life Women Fight Back Against Jerusalem Modesty Signs
A sign in the entrance to Mea Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem. Photo by Wikimedia Commons / Lisa Mathon Modesty signs in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of Jerusalem are a common sight. The forbidding black headlines generally read, “Please do not pass through our neighborhood in immodest clothes” – with a detailed description of the dress code…
-
Life Sorry Rabbi Shafran, Being Overworked Isn’t Feminism
via Getty images Last time I checked, making sure that you were able to put food on the table to feed your children wasn’t feminist, it was parenting. Working long hours for low wages because you weren’t permitted to earn educational degrees wasn’t feminist, it was surviving. In a system where men are encouraged to…
-
Fast Forward Haredi Protestors Arrested During Draft Dodger Demonstration
Israel Police arrested about 40 haredi Orthodox protesters in the southern city of Ashdod during a demonstration on behalf of four yeshiva students arrested for missing their army induction. Hundreds of haredi men and boys protested Monday in Ashdod, Jerusalem and at major intersections in the area against the arrest of the yeshiva students, who…
-
Opinion How Ultra-Orthodoxy Is Most Feminist Faith
Cris de coeur over the economic state of Israel’s Haredim are commonplace these days. Understandably so; the community is in dire financial straits. Some of the alarm may be motivated by concern for members of the Haredi community; much of it is clearly born of disquiet over what Haredi poverty and unemployment rates seem to…
Most Popular
- 1
Holy Ground A Jewish farmer broke ground on a synagogue in an Illinois cornfield. His neighbors showed up to help.
- 2
Opinion I discovered anti-Zionism at the University of Michigan. I’m glad it lives on there
- 3
Culture An Israeli genocide scholar looks to Israel’s history to understand ‘what went wrong’
- 4
Opinion An alarming new battleground in campus fights over Israel
In Case You Missed It
-
News Mamdani supersizes NYC hate crimes office, as tensions simmer over synagogue protests
-
Letters Debating Zionism is fair. Protesting Israel’s president at commencement crosses the line
-
Culture How Joanna Stern gets it done — with some help from AI
-
Yiddish שילאַ רײַך, באַליבטע ייִדיש־לערערין אין לאָס־אַנדזשעלעס, איז אַוועקSheila Reich, beloved LA Yiddish teacher, has died
אין קלאַס זענען די סטודענטן אָפֿט געווען אױף פֿאַרשידענע ניװאָען אָבער זי האָט זיך אָפּגעגעבן מיט יעדן באַזונדער.