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Fast Forward Yair Lapid and Shelly Yachimovich Call for More Religious Pluralism
Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Labor Party Chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich called for greater religious pluralism in Israel. Speaking in separate appearances Monday at a plenary session of the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly in Jerusalem, Lapid and Yachimovich both advocated for the loosening of Orthodox control of Israel’s religious laws. Yachimovich stressed…
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Opinion Is Robinson’s Arch Part of Western Wall — Or Not?
(JTA) — The key dispute in the recent feud between Women of the Wall and some of the group’s founders is whether Robinson’s Arch — an area adjacent to the Kotel plaza meant for egalitarian prayer — counts as the Western Wall. Anat Hoffman and most of the group’s board has said they’re willing, in…
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Culture A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Temple Mount
I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, but late last night, in the frightening darkness of my room in the holy city of Jerusalem, I felt I had had enough of being Jewish. How much, and how long, can a man be a light unto the nations? And so, in the morning…
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Opinion Bibi Scares Jewish Parley With Dead Iran Nuke Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed some 1,500 leaders of the top North American Jewish philanthropies to Jerusalem for their annual assembly with an angry denunciation of the Iranian nuclear negotiations that their government is leading in Geneva. In a rambling, repetitive, hour-long speech that was by turns impassioned, sarcastic and bitter, Netanyahu attacked the…
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Opinion A Paradox in Jerusalem: Pew Panic vs. Pluralism
Those who read my Friday blog post about the Israel-Diaspora deliberations going on in Jerusalem this week might have noticed that I mentioned a paradox in the way the discussions are going, but I never detailed the substance of the paradox. The sun was setting over the Mediterranean before I had a chance to finish…
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News Jerry Silverman Promises More Than Talk at Federations General Assembly
(JTA) — This time, it’s not going to be just talking. There’s going to be listening and debating — and, eventually, action. That’s what Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, says will distinguish this year’s General Assembly, which is slated for Nov. 10-12 in Jerusalem, from past G.A. conferences. “We have…
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News My Barber, My Book — and The Temple Mount
Are there toilets on the Temple Mount? I needed to find out. You see, a main character in a novel I was writing, “In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist,” is a toilet cleaner on the Temple Mount. Naturally, I wanted to know what the bathroom area looked like. As much as possible, I wanted the…
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Fast Forward Temple Mount Push by Jews Sparks Fears of Wider Conflict Among Israelis
Tensions between Jews and Muslims around Jerusalem’s Temple Mount are surging. Since the January general election, right-wing and religious groups have stepped up their efforts to change the status quo between Jews and Muslims at this ultra-sensitive site − a development due in no small measure to the growing clout of Habayit Hayehudi in the…
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Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
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Culture Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
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News Why Zohran Mamdani believes he’ll win over Jewish voters, as Israel critic surges to second behind Cuomo in NYC mayoral race
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Opinion Is Israel really going to reoccupy Gaza? Ask Trump
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Yiddish World A photo of my bubbe when Jewish stores still had Yiddish signs
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