This is the Forward’s coverage of Orthodox Judaism, which aims for a stricter observance of halachic law than Conservative or Reform Judaism. It includes Modern Orthodox Judaism, as well as Haredi (sometimes called ultra-Orthodox) Judaism,…
Orthodox Judaism
The Latest
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Fast Forward Orthodox Face of Women of the Wall
Earlier this month, while several hundred women held their monthly Rosh Chodesh prayer service at the Western Wall, a group of ultra-Orthodox men jeered loudly at them from across the barrier separating men and women. “Reform Jews, get out of here,” they shouted. “Reform Jews do not belong to the people of Israel. Reform Jews,…
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News Orthodox Slumlords and Their Tenants
I am a Jewish tenant organizer. This is not so unusual. Jews have been organizing ourselves and others since we left the Old World for New York City’s slums. We created labor unions when we lived in tenements on the Lower East Side, and we continue to organize today, often in partnership with other communities,…
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News Jews and Sex Trafficking; Orthodox E-Rate Windfall; Six Word Memoirs
In this week’s Reporters Roundtable podcast, host Josh Nathan-Kazis is joined by Forward editor Jane Eisner to discuss the modern and historical Jewish communal response to sex trafficking. Then, Josh talks with news editor Larry Cohler-Esses about why Lakewood, New Jersey is raking in federal funds for internet connectivity in schools. Finally, deputy culture editor…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Rabbis Split on Anti-Gay Bullying Law in Canadian City of Winnepeg
An anti-bullying bill in Manitoba has Winnipeg’s two leading Orthodox rabbis split over how much schools should do to accommodate students who support gay rights. One part of Bill 18, proposed last December, requires any school that receives provincial funding to allow students to create a gay-straight alliance club. Fearing that Christian schools will be…
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News Maine Rabbi’s Injury Forges Remarkable Partnership Between 2 Branches of Faith
One of the first things Rabbi Alice Goldfinger said as we sat down for our interview is that she would likely forget all about me. “I’ll know you were here, because the appointment is in my calendar,” she said. “But I won’t remember it. I have no short-term memory. I don’t feel time, so by…
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Life First Ultra-Orthodox Sex-Segregated Playground Opens
The reportedly first sex-segregated public playground in the country has been opened in Kiryas Joel, the ultra-Orthodox enclave in Monroe, NY. According to YourJewishNews.com, Kiryas Joel’s Satmar Hasidic community has built on 283 acres on the city’s outskirts a playground that completely separates boys from girls. More accurately, the space is divided into four areas:…
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Opinion Orthodox Push Back on Kotel
The rabbi of the Western Wall Shmuel Rabinowitz isn’t opposed to the plan for an egalitarian prayer section there, he announced in a statement emailed to reporters yesterday. But it’s already clear that he doesn’t speak for the Haredi mainstream. Rabinowitz is Haredi, but softer on religious issues than most Haredi leaders. This is partly…
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Fast Forward Five Women Detained at Monthly Kotel Protest
Israeli police detained five women activists on Thursday at the Western Wall, one of Judaism’s most sacred sites, for wearing prayer shawls, which Orthodox tradition sees as solely for men, a spokesman said. The incident occurred during a monthly prayer session by the Women of the Wall, a group opposed to police-enforced Orthodox controls at…
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