Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
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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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Fast Forward ‘Fake Charity’ Rabbi Ordered To Repay $522K
A Brooklyn rabbi who collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for fake charities and used the money to pay his cable TV and electric bill has agreed to pay restitution of $500,000 in a settlement reached today with New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The rabbi, Yaakov Weingarten, pled guilty in New York State…
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Fast Forward Are European Rabbis Putting Stamp of Approval on Russian Takeover of Crimea?
Leaders of a prominent Jewish community in Ukraine criticized European rabbis who attended a Kremlin-sponsored Holocaust commemoration ceremony in Crimea. The Jewish Community of Dnepropetrovsk condemned the actions of the rabbis in a statement that it posted on its website last week in connection with a ceremony that was held on July 10 in Sevastopol….
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