BOSTON (JTA) — Massachusetts and Rhode Island have changed their primary dates this year to avoid a conflict with the Jewish High Holidays. In Massachusetts, the secretary of state, William Galvin, announced Tuesday that the voting would be moved up to Sept. 4, the day after Labor Day and two weeks earlier than the original…
The congregation that worships in America’s oldest synagogue building asked a federal court for a rehearing of the case that gave control of its pricey artifacts to the building’s historic trustees. Lawyers for Congregation Jeshuat Israel, which meets in the 250-year-old Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, said the court’s decision last month giving control…
(JTA) — A small Jewish congregation in Rhode Island is moving into an Episcopal church. Congregation Or Chadash will hold a procession next week, during which congregants will carry their three Torah scrolls out of their former building, which was recently consecrated as the first Hindu Temple in Rhode Island, the Jewish Voice newspaper reported….
(JTA) — A swastika made with human feces was found in a dormitory bathroom at the Rhode Island School of Design. The existence of the swastika was confirmed by the school on Thursday, but reportedly was discovered a week ago. It was discovered in a gender-neutral bathroom, according to reports. “This level of disrespect and…
— Congregation Shearith Israel in New York will appeal a federal court ruling last month stripping its control of the historic Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island. The Manhattan congregation filed a notice Tuesday saying it will appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an effort to reverse last month’s decision concerning its…
Rabbi Marc Mandel’s voice filled Touro Synagogue one recent Saturday morning, drifting past the wooden columns that line the basilica and rising toward the women’s gallery, just as the voices of baalei tefillah, or prayer leaders, did 250 years ago. Tourists stream through this, the oldest synagogue in America, five days a week. But it…
Opening statements began in a Rhode Island legal battle pitting America’s oldest congregation against the congregation that worships in America’s oldest synagogue structure. The trial between Congregation Shearith Israel of New York City and members of a congregation that worships in Touro Synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island — both of which claim control over the…
American Jewish history goes on trial June 1 in a courtroom battle that could decide the future of the nation’s oldest synagogue. At stake is a set of silver Torah bells known as rimonim, thought to be worth more than $7 million. But according to two warring congregations, the outcome could deeply affect Jewish life…
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