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
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Fast Forward Schumer: Orthodox Jews Should Call Out Trump For Failing To Condemn Neo-Nazis
WASHINGTON (JTA) — An otherwise congenial meeting between Jewish organizational officials and Democratic senators apparently turned testy when Sen. Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, said Orthodox Jews should do more to call out President Donald Trump for failing to confront hate in the United States. Schumer, D-N.Y. was singling out what he depicted as a…
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Community Orthodox Trump Supporters Are Not White Supremacists
Since November 2016, members of the media have been finding Nazis everywhere — even in seemingly impossible places. The latest example in the Forward was a piece by Elad Nehorai proclaiming that Orthodox Jews are embracing White Nationalist ideology. Nehorai is a writer I have long respected and admired, both for his mastery of the…
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Community What Every Prospective Convert to Judaism Deserves To Know
When you go to a doctor, you initially have to complete and sign a plethora of forms. There are the checkboxes for all imaginable ailments and diseases, and you begin to realize “Yikes! There are so many things in me that can go wrong, it’s a miracle that I even can read this thing and…
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Life There’s No Such Thing As ‘Half-Jewish.’ It’s Simply ‘Jewish.’
As a child growing up in Philadelphia, when adults would ask me about my religion, I would answer, with a smile, “I’m nothing!” This resulted in a polite smile mixed with pity and bafflement. My Ukrainian Greek Catholic mother married a Jewish man, as did two of her four sisters. My mom may have married…
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Fast Forward Women Are ‘Weak-Minded’ And ‘Just Babble,’ Israeli Rabbi Tells Yeshiva Students
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A rabbi who teaches at a pre-military yeshiva in the West Bank told students that women are “weak minded” and “just babble.” Rabbi Yosef Kelner also said women have a “limited capacity” for spirituality in the footage broadcast Tuesday by Hadashot news taken at a class on marriage and family. The class…
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Opinion Anti-Orthodox Is The New Anti-Semitism
I’ve recently come to a shocking realization about American society. Over the past few years, it has become increasingly clear that it’s okay to hate Jews. I’m not talking about the abhorrent anti-Semitism of the “alt-right,” where wannabe politicians stoke the flames of bigotry just so that they can get the fleeting feeling of relevance….
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Fast Forward Haredi Orthodox Rabbis Issue Ruling Forbidding Smartwatches
Prominent Haredi Orthodox rabbis have issued a ruling forbidding the use of smartwatches, the Israeli newspaper Kikar Hashabbat reported. “The severity of the destruction brought about by smartphones is already known…and the great rabbis of our generation have already warned us about the magnitude of the issue,” the rabbis wrote in their ruling, according to…
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Opinion White Nationalism Is Spreading In The Orthodox Community
Something disturbing has been happening in the Orthodox world. White Nationalist language is infiltrating our public spaces. It’s happening in our synagogues, in our communities, in our schools and, of course, online. And those of us who see it are looking on in increasing horror. There was always some racism in our communities, of course;…
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