This is the Forward’s coverage of Jewish affairs in Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital.
Washington，︀D.C.
The Latest
-
Fast Forward Jewish Activist Brianne Nadeau Wins D.C. Council Seat
Brianne Nadeau, prominent in Washington D.C.-area Jewish advocacy, won a seat on the capital’s city council. Nadeau, a Democrat, on Tuesday secured the seat representing Ward 1, a diverse and youthful area in the city’s Northwest known for its alternative culture. She is one of 13 councilors who serve four-year terms. Nadeau, 34, until her…
-
Culture Channeling Freud To Prevent the Next Barry Freundel
(Haaretz) — I was sitting in a group discussion with fellow psychotherapists recently when a colleague mentioned that one of his female patients had, unannounced, come over and sat down on his lap. Someone else shared the revelation that one of his female patients intimated a desire to see him without any clothes on. The therapists…
-
Opinion Why the Mikveh Scandal Cuts So Deep
The sordid story of the Washington rabbi accused of spying on naked women in his synagogue’s ritual bath is more than just a local scandal, an Orthodox scandal, a conversion scandal. It is a Jewish scandal, tearing deep into the heart of a religious hierarchy that is dominated by men who are rarely held to…
-
Fast Forward Tiny Cameras Found in Rabbi Freundel’s Towson University Office
Tiny cameras and memory cards capable of holding hundreds of thousands of images were found in the Towson University office of Rabbi Barry Freundel. The devices, memory cards and flash drives, as well as a photo of naked women and a handwritten list of names, were found in the rabbi’s office on the campus near…
-
News How a Stunned Synagogue Faces Up to Sins of Rabbi Barry Freundel
There is no playbook guiding Modern Orthodox congregations on what to do when their rabbi is accused of abusing congregants and of violating their privacy at the most holy and intimate of moments. But when the venerable Washington congregation Kesher Israel got the news on October 14 that its spiritual leader of more than 26…
-
Life Did Rabbi Freundel Build Mikveh for Own Fantasy?
Photo by Nir Keidar/Haaretz (Haaretz) — When I first heard about Rabbi Barry Freundel’s arrest on grounds of voyeurism, I was upset, but not horrified. If the allegations are true, I thought, we have a case of a sick man who couldn’t control his sexual urges. Sad. Especially since he carries a title that would…
-
News Rabbis Barry Freundel and Leib Tropper Ensnared in Scandals Tied to Conversions
A prominent Orthodox rabbi is disgraced, accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior towards converts. That may sound like the scandal now toppling Barry Freundel, the prominent Washington, D.C. rabbi who pled not guilty on October 15 to allegations that he secretly videotaped women showering in the antechamber of his synagogue’s mikveh, or ritual bath….
-
Fast Forward Israeli Chief Rabbinate Will Review Rabbi Freundel’s Conversions
(Haaretz) — The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is reviewing the validity of conversions performed in recent years by Rabbi Barry Freundel, the Orthodox American rabbi charged with secretly filming women in his synagogue’s ritual bath, Haaretz has learned. “We are appalled by the accusations against Rabbi Barry Freundel and wish to stress that the acts attributed…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion Outrage over Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed on sexual assault of Palestinians is missing the point
- 2
News They texted about Torah and mitzvahs. Feds say they were insider trading
- 3
Culture At Eurovision, Israel’s near triumph shows the limits of tolerance
- 4
Opinion I run The Jewish Theological Seminary. Here’s the real story about President Isaac Herzog speaking at our commencement
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Israeli far-right minister orders Arab village evicted after saying ICC is seeking his arrest
-
Culture In celebration of David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, a very Jewish song
-
Fast Forward Barney Frank’s final warning on Israel: ‘America’s effort should be to support the opposition to Netanyahu’
-
Yiddish ייִדן פֿלעגן באַשווערן רוחות און שלאַנגען אויף ווײַסרוסישJews used to conjure spirits and snakes in Belarusian
בײַ ייִדן איז פֿאַראַן אַן אַלטע טראַדיציע צו שרײַבן רײַסישע סגולות מיט ייִדישע אותיות.