The Orthodox Union on Monday endorsed the Trump administration’s rollback of a rule requiring employers to include coverage for birth control in the health plans they offer their employees. “The new regulations are good news for all Americans,” said Mark Bane, president of the O.U. board. “Religious freedom is a fundamental right for all, so…
Many Jewish groups criticized the Trump administration’s decision last week to allow more entities to deny offering contraception in their health care plans on religious grounds—but Orthodox Jewish groups are praising the move. The Orthodox Union issued a statement on Monday welcoming the memorandum from the Department of Health and Human Services, which undid some…
The Orthodox Union is urging New York City to arrange for kosher certification of a free school lunch program, which observant Jewish and Muslim students have so far not been able to eat. “The mayor is openly discriminating against students in nonpublic and religious schools,” Orthodox Union CEO Allen Fagin told the New York Daily…
Armed with a presidential tweet, a bill moving forward in Congress and a pending lawsuit, Jewish and Christian advocates believe they are on the verge of overturning a long-standing policy that has prohibited federal emergency funds from reaching houses of worship hit by natural disasters. The public face of this campaign is Christian. A short…
Seven months after one of Orthodox Judaism’s oldest and biggest institutions barred women clergy from its synagogues, the decision is threatening to create yet another split in a community already riven by the issue of female rabbis. Founded more than 100 years ago, the Orthodox Union is a coalition of synagogues and other organizations, most…
Donald Trump intends to hold on Friday the annual pre-High Holiday presidential conference call with Jewish leaders. The New York Times reported that invitations already went out to a call in which Trump “will send well wishes for the upcoming holidays and discuss his administration’s progress on issues of interest to the Jewish community.” The…
The Orthodox Union will not make a decision until at least mid-October on what to do about member congregations that continue to flout its new rules banning female clergy, the group’s executive vice president told the Forward. The Forward reported Thursday that advocates were worried that the group would take up the issue at its…
Half a year after the Orthodox Union banned women from serving as clergy at members’ synagogues, at least four of its congregations are continuing to flout the rule. Now, advocates worry that the O.U.’s board could vote to expel those synagogues at its meeting next Wednesday, the first gathering of the board since it passed…
