Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
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Fast Forward After 5 Attacks, Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs Ponders Future
After the latest attack on his home, Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs sat down on his couch, picked up the phone and made three calls. A chief rabbi of the Netherlands, Jacobs first phoned police and a Jewish community leader to tell them that late on the night of July 17, just over a week after the…
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Fast Forward Prague Jews Elect David Peter as Chief Rabbi
The Jewish community of Prague elected Rabbi David Peter, a native of the Czech capital, as its new chief rabbi. The community announced the choice of Peter, 38, the rabbi at the Jerusalem Synagogue in Prague, in a news release issued Tuesday. Peter has been working as the rabbi at the Jerusalem Synagogue since returning…
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Fast Forward Rabbi Detained for Singing Songs at Auschwitz
An Israeli rabbi is demanding an apology from the administration of the Auschwitz memorial after he was detained while leading a group of Jewish teenagers. Rabbi Rafi Ostroff said he was threatened with arrest if his group of Australian and South African boys did not stop singing Jewish songs while visiting the site. Ostroff, the…
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Fast Forward No Tisha B’Av Fast for Israeli Soldiers in Gaza
Israeli soldiers talking part in the Gaza operation are exempted from fasting on Tisha b’Av, the chief rabbis of Israel ruled. Rabbis David Lau (Ashkenazi) and Yitzhak Yosef (Sephardi) presented their ruling on Jewish law, or halachah, on Monday — the fast was to begin at sundown. “As IDF soldiers are standing on the frontline…
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Fast Forward Malmo Rabbi Attacked as Anti-Semitism Surges
A rabbi from the Swedish city of Malmo was attacked by men who hurled objects at him from a car and used anti-Semitic pejoratives. Rabbi Shneur Kesselman was assaulted on Saturday night along with a member of his congregation, the Sydsvenskan daily reported Sunday. The attack, which resulted in no physical injuries, came on the…
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Fast Forward Extremist Settlers Clash With Rabbis Over Palestinian Olive Groves on West Bank
Jewish settlers clashed with activists of the Rabbis for Human Rights movement near the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday as they protected Palestinians beginning the annual olive harvest. Israeli police and soldiers grappled with settlers who tried to drive off local Palestinians and international supporters of Palestinian rights in the West Bank. “This…
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Fast Forward First Woman Rabbi Recalled at Terezin Camp
A memorial plaque to Regina Jonas, the first female rabbi, was unveiled at the former Nazi concentration camp Terezin in the Czech Republic. Several female rabbis from Jonas’ native Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States — notably Sally Priesand, who in 1972 became the first American female rabbi — attended Thursday’s ceremony in…
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Fast Forward Extremist Rabbi Issues Ruling Saying Jewish Law Permits Destruction of Gaza
Rabbi Dov Lior, a leading West Bank rabbi who endorsed a book justifying the killing of non-Jews, issued a religious ruling saying that Jewish law permits the destruction of Gaza to keep southern Israel safe. Lior, chief rabbi of the Kiryat Arba settlement, issued the opinion after receiving questions about Jewish law’s position on harming…
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