It’s Official: No Circumcision in Germany – Jewish Hospital Bans the Brit

Posted on: July 3rd, 2012

The Jewish Hospital in Berlin has suspended all religious circumcisions of children following a ruling delivered by a German court banning the practice.

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Andy Statman: Klezmer Is Finished

Posted on: June 26th, 2012

Andy Statman says the time of Klezmer has passed. Having just received the NEA National Heritage Fellowship in June for his work in bluegrass and Klezmer music, Statman admits Klezmer used to be his substitute for Jewish observance. Now that he is an Orthodox Jew, he no longer feels the need to play the music.

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Police Arrest Leader of Mumbai Terror Attack

Posted on: June 25th, 2012

Following more than three years of investigation, Indian security forces have arrested Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari aka Abu Hamza, alleged member of Lashker-e-Taiba (Army of the Righteous) and the Hindi instructor of 10 terrorists who executed the murderous attack in Mumbai in 2008.

Census: Almost 100,000 Jews in Australia

Posted on: June 25th, 2012

Australia’s 2011 census shows that Australia’s official Jewish population has risen to almost 100,000, a rise of 10 percent in five years.

Outposts Committee Report: Judea and Samaria Are Not Occupied Territories

Posted on: June 24th, 2012

Judea and Samaria are not under occupation rule. This is the central finding of the "Outposts Committee" which was appointed to examine the legal status of Israel in Judea and Samaria.

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Peter Beinart, ADL Chief, Spar over ‘Crisis’ in Zionism at President’s Conference

Posted on: June 21st, 2012

Abe Foxman, Director of the Anti-Defamation League: "My love and support for Israel is unconditional, it does not depend on the Israeli acceptance of my ideas. My Zionism is not in crisis because my Zionism is not conditioned on an idealized view of what I'd like Israel to be."

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Female Rabbis Make Less than Male Counterparts, But Some Fare Better

Posted on: June 21st, 2012

Female Reform rabbis are paid less than their male counterparts, but it's a far cry from the normal disparities between U.S. male and female employees.

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Yeshiva University High School Reunion in Israel to Celebrate Rabbi Abraham Zuroff’s 90th Birthday

Posted on: June 18th, 2012

A reunion for Yeshiva University High School graduates will take place on Friday, June 22, 2012 at 10 AM, at the YU Gruss Center in Jerusalem. Some 200 Yeshiva University High School alumni residing in Israel will honor Rabbi Zuroff, principal and later supervisor of all Yeshiva University high schools, at the event.

Suit Charges Hebrew National Products Not Kosher

Posted on: June 18th, 2012

Class action lawsuit against Hebrew National alleges the company is misrepresenting its own kashrut standards “as defined by the most stringent Jews who follow Orthodox Jewish Law."

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Norwegian Anti-Semites Firebrand Jewish Youth’s Neck

Posted on: June 14th, 2012

The Jewish boy's mother said the attacking students had heated the coin on a BBQ grill and pressed it onto the boy's neck, burning through to the flesh. "They say they are going to kill all the Jews, and use offensive language such as 'Jewish pigs' and 'Jewish Satan,'" she said.

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New York City Jewish Population Over 1 Million Again

Posted on: June 12th, 2012

A study by the UJA-Federation of New York found that the population of the New York Jewish community - comprising the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester - has grown nearly 10% since the last study in 2002. New York City's Jewish population stands at 1,086,000, with 40% identifying themselves as Orthodox, a 7% increase from 2002.

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NYC Health Commissioner Condemns Metzitzah B’peh, Recommends Safe Alternatives

Posted on: June 7th, 2012

The New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley has issued a strongly worded statement calling for an end to the circumcision-related rite of "metzitza b'peh," loosely translated as suction with the mouth. Last year, a baby died at Brooklyn’s Maimonides Medical Center from “disseminated herpes simplex virus Type 1, complicating ritual circumcision with oral suction."

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Rabbis to PM Netanyahu: The Beginning of Downfall is Flight

Posted on: June 6th, 2012

The Rabbinical Congress for Peace cited the words of Nobel laureate Professor Israel Aumann who said that that evicting the families “would endanger not only the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria but also all of Israel."

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Orthodox Push Obama on Israel, Contraceptives, in White House Meeting

Posted on: June 6th, 2012

The OU reps pressed Obama hard on his handling of US-Israel relations and on mandating contraceptive coverage. Obama accused Netanyahu of trying to "act without restraints."

Israel May Up Fertility Treatment Subsidies to Three Kids, Cut Aid to Older First-Time Moms

Posted on: June 4th, 2012

Israel’s Health Ministry is mulling a plan to vastly increase government assistance to couples with fertility difficulties to grow larger families, while decreasing the amount of subsidies to women over the age of 43 who have never succeeded in getting pregnant.

Chabad Sends Camouflaged Torahs, Cheesecakes, to Soldiers Overseas

Posted on: May 24th, 2012

The Aleph Institute, a Chabad-Lubavitch organization catering to the needs of Jewish soldiers and their families, is helping servicemen celebrate the upcoming holiday of Shavuot with 1,000 special military edition Torah books, according to a report on Chabad.org.

Artifact Found in Time for Shavuot Proves Bethlehem Existed During First Temple

Posted on: May 23rd, 2012

Israel Antiquities Authority and the Ir David Foundation announced that a clay seal was discovered bearing the name of the city of Bethlehem, evidence that the city existed during the period of the First Temple in Jerusalem. The find coincides with the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, during which time Jews from around the world focus on the story of the biblical figure Ruth, set in the city of Bethlehem.

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Young Olim from U.S. Celebrate Their First Shavuot in Israel

Posted on: May 23rd, 2012

Nefesh B’Nefesh organized a special celebration yesterday in Ein Yael, Jerusalem for new Olim to better prepare them for their first Shavuot in Israel.

Jewish Children Attacked on Mount of Olives Before Jerusalem Day

Posted on: May 20th, 2012

A group of Jewish children and their parents were targeted in a fierce rock attack Friday night outside the Maale HaZeitim neighborhood in Jerusalem, miraculously escaping serious injury. Jerusalem police who arrived to investigate were also pelted with stones – and left.

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Jewish Birthrate Exceeds Arab in Jerusalem

Posted on: May 20th, 2012

The Jewish birthrate per capita of Jewish mothers in Jerusalem is now higher than that of Arab women in Israel’s capital city.

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