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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Fast Forward American Orthodox Groups Condemn Israeli Extremist Violence
(JTA) — Orthodox Jewish organizations in America are condemning attacks by religious extremists on Israeli soldiers and police officers. In recent months there has been an increase in violent attacks against religious Jews in Israel who join the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Police. The leaders of the Orthodox Union, Rabbinical Council of America…
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Community These Four Conflicting Visions Will Determine Israel’s Future
Israel is a success story on many levels — social, economic, scientific, and in terms of protecting its security. Nevertheless, many of its citizens see the country as treading water. What is the source of this dissonance? In Israel’s cultural war, one community’s dream is another community’s nightmare. But if we are capable of pushing…
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Opinion I Was Pushed To The Back Of A Protest Because I’m A Zionist. Here’s What It Taught Me About Tribalism And Jews
One evening in November, I found myself standing at the back of a crowd of protesters. It was a protest organized by IfNotNow, the Jewish anti-occupation group, to protest the Zionist Organization of America’s hosting of Steve Bannon at their annual gala. IfNotNow does “not take a unified stance on BDS, Zionism or the question…
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Fast Forward Soon-To-Be-Married Orthodox Couple Killed In Fiery Car Crash Near JFK
A recently engaged Orthodox couple were among the victims of a fiery car crash near New York’s JFK airport that injured seven other people Wednesday night, the New York Daily News reported. Yisroel Levin, 21, of Brooklyn, and Elisheva Kaplan, 20, of Queens, were driving on a foggy road when their sedan was caught in…
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Culture Maya Angelou’s Message For The Orthodox
People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel. – Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014) To me, this beautiful quote from the late, great Maya Angelou, encapsulates so much of the tension in Orthodox Judaism today. Generally, people in my community are…
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News Some Jews Do Love To Shoot — Just Not On Shabbat
On Saturday, the March for Our Lives, a gun protest march organized in part by teenage survivors of the shooting in Parkland, Florida, will take place in cities across the country. Plenty of Jews will be in attendance — some of Parkland’s strongest voices since the shooting have been Jewish survivors and parents of those…
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Community How Living In A Muslim Country Made Me Lose My Faith In Orthodox Judaism
A version of this article originally appeared in Plus 61J, an Australian Jewish publication. I had my greatest revelation about Judaism while studying Arabic in Cairo. I was in the middle of my master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies at St Antony’s College, Oxford. Part of the course requirement was spending the summer learning a…
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Community The Chief Rabbinate’s Monopoly Is Crumbling In Israel — And That’s A Great Thing
Recently Tzohar, a Zionist-Orthodox rabbinic organization, announced their establishment of a private entity to oversee kosher dietary regulations —kashrut— in Israel. The move is another nail in the coffin of the Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly over religious life, and another important milestone on the way to the separation of religion and state in Israel. The establishment…
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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 Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Yiddish צווישן טרער און מוט — צווישן געדענקען און אומאָפּהענגיקייטBetween tears and courage — between memory and resilience
הירהורים צום 77סטן געבוירן־טאָג פֿון מדינת־ישׂראל
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Opinion Ireland’s prime minister gave condolences for Hitler’s death — here’s why that’s a contemporary problem
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Fast Forward The fires in Israel are under control — but debate is raging over their cause
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Fast Forward Argentina declassifies more than 1,800 files on Nazi escape via ‘rat-lines’ to South America
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