Welcome to 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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The Schmooze Airport Strike In Israel Ends, But Damage Is Done
Come Yom Kippur, employees at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport might have to atone for scrambling thousands of passengers’ travel plans. On Monday, during one of Israel’s busiest travel periods of the year, the Israel Airports Authority employees union declared a strike; by late yesterday, the strike had been settled, Haaretz reported. But the damage had…
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The Schmooze Drew Barrymore, Justin Long Defile Kosher Home!
Despite tepid advance reviews for the upcoming Drew Barrymore-Justin Long romantic comedy, “Going the Distance” — Variety diagnosed the movie as having “bipolar disorder” — the trailer is playing up the genre film’s atypical gross-out aspect. Directed by Nanette Burstein, the film follows two lovers, Erin and Garrett, as they try to work through a…
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The Schmooze Vodka Ad Too Sexy For Brooklyn Hasidic Community
Is a bikini-clad bum offensive? Does a clothed booty constitute an “inappropriate” image? Probably not in hip-hop videos, vacation ads or swimwear promotions. But on the side of a New York City Transit bus that travels through heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, it’s a different story, a crusading rabbi says. And the Metropolitan Transportation Authority seems…
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The Schmooze ‘Michael Jackson of Jewish Music’ Headed to Jail
Michoel Streicher, a 50-year-old mentally ill Orthodox cantor who was popular (in certain circles) in the 1990s and calls himself “The Michael Jackson of Jewish music,” was sentenced yesterday to one to three years in prison for stealing $36,000 from a fan, according to the Daily News. The victim, 55-year-old Judy Burstein, gave Streicher the…
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The Schmooze Marijuana Kingpin Lived With His Orthodox Parents
Looks like we’ve got true-life sequel material for “Holy Rollers,” the just-released film in which a young Orthodox Jew gets lured into drug running. Bail was denied Thursday for Jonathan Braun, the 27-year-old Staten Island boychik accused of smuggling more than 100,000 kilos of marijuana from Canada into the U.S. — all while living with…
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The Schmooze Court Rules Catholic Woman Has To Raise Stepson as Orthodox Jew
Divorce is never easy, and mixing in the rules of Orthodox Judaism certainly doesn’t make it easier. But that’s precisely what happened when Laura Derbigney became entangled in a custody battle between her Catholic husband and his Jewish ex-wife over the ex-couple’s 7-year-old son. Derbigney, a Chicago resident, is being forced by a court to…
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The Schmooze Nigerian Yiddish Speaker Charged With Fraud Jumps Bail
John Star, a Yiddish-speaking Nigerian national, has jumped bail after being charged with mortgage fraud, the New York Daily News reported today. Star learned Yiddish as a child from his adoptive parents who were Orthodox Jews and raised him in Switzerland. Apparently his Yiddish came in handy when committing mortgage fraud in New York. “He…
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Opinion Showdown Over Orthodox ‘Control’ in 5 Towns School Board Vote
Voters in the Long Island village of Lawrence go to the polls on Tuesday, March 12, in highly-charged school board election that pits a slate of three Orthodox Jewish incumbents against a slate of challengers including a non-Orthodox Jew and two non-Jews. The seven-member board currently includes six Orthodox Jews. The village of Lawrence had…
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