Haredi
The Latest
-
The Schmooze IDF Gets Text Savvy for Emergency Situations
Things not gr8. Go 2 shelters. Yes, it’s the Middle East SMS-style. The Israel Defense Forces has just started testing a new text message process for communicating emergency instructions to civilians. Citizens across Southern Israel have been receiving trial texts. It’s a big step forward in emergency preparedness — especially given that Israelis are so…
-
Life Teaching Haredi Women To Succeed in Business
Batya Kenanie Bram, a former Israeli government spokeswoman, said she was looking for a new challenge. The working mother of three wanted to do something that she thought would have more direct social impact. Drawing on her natural business acumen and her formal academic training — she has a master’s degree in political science and…
-
Life Jewish Child Brides — Why the Barbaric Practice of Marrying Off Young Girls Persists
Ever since the marriage of Rebecca and Isaac over three millennia ago, the children of Abraham and Sarah have toyed with the practice of betrothing their daughters at very young ages. Of course not all scholars agree that Rebecca was actually three years old when she took the fateful decision to feed Eliezer’s camels and…
-
Life A Hecksher for Fashion — and an Exposé on Jews in Burqas
Just when you thought the policing of Haredi women’s appearance couldn’t get more extreme — it does. According to Ynet, a kosher certificate for women’s fashions now exists. An ultra-Orthodox body called “the Committee for the Sanctity of the Camp” has begun supervising clothing stores offering such heckshers in the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhoods of Mea…
-
Life On Tweenage Girls Joining Facebook, Wearing Makeup
When I saw this blog post, about attempts by some ultra-Orthodox authorities in Israel to ban Facebook from Haredi homes because the ubiquitous social media site “greatly damages families,” I thought it just another example of the community’s ongoing effort to build the shtetl walls high enough to control people’s behavior. Then I read this…
-
The Schmooze Couple Branded Troublemakers for Sitting Together on Israeli Bus
Couple Rides Bus. Hardly the subject for a news article in a national newspaper, but welcome to the bizarre world of Israel’s Haredi media. You may recall that there’s controversy in Israel about gender-segregated bus lines in Israel – or in Hebrew mehadrin lines. Earlier this month, the High Court ruled that they are legal,…
-
The Schmooze Peeling Back The Forbidden Strawberry
It’s the forbidden fruit… unless peeled. The strawberry has been the cause of much rabbinical consternation in recent years. The reason is that many rabbis believe strawberries to be a favorite hangout for insects, and eating an insect is actually more problematic in Jewish law than eating pork. Now one of Israel’s most prolific Haredi…
-
The Schmooze Prayer at the Western Wall: A Weekday-Only Activity?
The Western Wall was abnormally busy this afternoon. More people than on a usual Friday left their Sabbath preparations and braved the cool Jerusalem weather to head for the Wall. Why? One reason is that today is a fast day, the Fast of Tevet, and people wanted to pray at the special afternoon service. But…
Most Popular
- 1
Sports This year’s biggest World Cup upset came from its most ‘Jew-ish’ team
- 2
News Who is Gadi Eisenkot, the Israeli politician who could dethrone Netanyahu?
- 3
Opinion The latest victim of the culture war over Israel is a left-wing, lapsed Catholic Bible scholar
- 4
Fast Forward Trump nominee defends college cartoon of Jewish student with devil horns at Senate hearing
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture The White House cabinet is eating like your zayde
-
Fast Forward Chair of Britain’s largest arts center to step down amid antisemitism scrutiny
-
Fast Forward Mamdani touts ‘Babies not Bombs’ messaging after flexing political muscle in the New York primaries
-
Fast Forward Jewish anti-Zionist David Orkin defeats incumbent in NY Assembly primary