Jewish ‘Valentine’s Day’ Finds Ancient Roots in Biblical Shiloh

Posted on: August 2nd, 2012

Over 3,000 years ago, an ancient Jewish holiday was celebrated by the maidens of Israel. Dressed in white, soon-to-be brides would dance in the community of Shiloh in Samaria, the temporary capital of Israel before the first Temple was built in Jerusalem.

Poll: Majority of Israelis Want Prayers on the Temple Mount, But No Temple

Posted on: July 27th, 2012

According to a poll commissioned by Makor Rishon, the majority of Israelis want Jews to be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount. Of the 512 Jewish Israeli adults who responded to the poll, 52% were for permitting Jewish Prayers on the Temple Mount, while 37% were against it. 22% of those polled said they […]

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“We’re Not in Lodz Ghetto Anymore” – Temple Mount Activists Fight for Jewish Rights in Knesset and Beyond

Posted on: July 26th, 2012

A renewed outcry for “Temple consciousness” has arisen with a flurry of political, religious, and social activity.

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IDF Accommodates Arrival of Tens of Thousands for Ramadan Prayers

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

Special measures taken to allow for the passage of large numbers of worshipers through crossings in the Jerusalem and Bethlehem areas on the first Friday of Ramadan

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Williamsburg Store Owners Slammed for Banning Sleeveless Shoppers

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

A ban by some Orthodox Brooklyn shopkeepers on customers’ cleavage and bare shoulders has raised the ire of some local consumers.

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Rock Beats Muezzin: Offensive Mosque Speakers Removed after Threat of Reprisal

Posted on: July 24th, 2012

That's all it took – a simple message to the Muezzin and the local leaders in the village of Al Issawiya, near the French Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem.

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Happy Ramadan

Posted on: July 20th, 2012

Ramadan began on Friday as 100,000 Muslims pray on the Temple Mount.

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ADL Criticizes Anti-Abortion Center’s Western Wall Motif

Posted on: July 19th, 2012

The wall will be fronted with 60 white cross "that symbolize the 60 million little baby boys and girls have been murdered since 1973 in America alone."

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Rabbi Elyashiv, 102, Passed Away

Posted on: July 18th, 2012

There is great concern in Haredi circles following a severe deterioration in the condittion of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, who has been hospitalized for the past six months in Shaarey Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem.

Half of US Reform Rabbis Officiate at Intermarriages

Posted on: July 4th, 2012

While the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) does not have statistics on how many of its 2,000 Reform rabbis in North America officiate at intermarriages, when pressed, Rabbi Hara Person, director of CCAR Press, estimated "it's about half." A resolution proposed at CCAR's 2008 annual convention called for dropping the official opposition to intermarriages. The resolution was tabled but the practice is now commonplace.

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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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A Revolutionary Rabbinic Idea For Organ Donations

Posted on: June 28th, 2012

JERUSALEM – A leading Orthodox rabbi in Israel has a revolutionary proposal for the harvesting of organs from a clinically dead patient. At present, his proposal not only has no support from other rabbis, it is also against Israeli law – but he is not fazed.

Shocking German Ruling May Lead to ‘Circumcision Tourism’

Posted on: June 28th, 2012

Head of the Religious Community of Islam in Germany Ali Demir predicted that a ban on circumcisions in Germany would lead to the development of "circumcision tourism in neighboring countries in Europe." ADL's Abe Foxman called on Germany's parliament to change the law, lest Jews again feel unwanted in Germany.

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Haredi Draft Proposal Offers Few Sticks, Many Carrots

Posted on: June 27th, 2012

The Plesner Committee, tasked with crafting an alternative to the Tal Law for haredi service in Israel, is reportedly drafting a proposal which would defer the enlistment of haredi men till age 22, offer financial incentives to yeshivot that have younger enlistment rates, and begin to levy economic sanctions on haredim who don't enlist by age 23.

German Court Criminalizes Religious Circumcision

Posted on: June 26th, 2012

A Cologne district court ruled on Tuesday that parents may not have their sons circumcised for religious reasons, essentially criminalizing religious circumcisions.

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Lakewood Girls School under Attack for Controversial Letter on Modesty

Posted on: June 14th, 2012

The Lakewood, NJ, Bnos Yaakov elementary school is not happy over the fact that an internal letter to its students has been published online. It contains a story with a disturbing notion of purgatory for girls who don't obey the laws of tzniyut (modesty).

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Reform and Conservative Leaders Deemed Rabbis, to Receive Israeli State Funds

Posted on: May 30th, 2012

The Israeli government announced on Tuesday that, for the first time, it will pay the salaries of a small number of Reform and Conservative rabbis who are considered leaders in their communities, and will also recognize them as rabbis.

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Saudis Outraged by McDonald’s Toy They Believe to be Insulting to Muhammed

Posted on: May 28th, 2012

Saudi Muslims have launched several campaigns against McDonald's in "response to the savage attacks on the noble Prophet," under banners like "Help your Prophet!" and "Together in support of the Prophet."

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At Least 50 Thousand Haredim Assemble to Decry Dangers of the Internet

Posted on: May 21st, 2012

More than 50,000 ultra-Orthodox Jewish men packed Citi Field in Flushing, Queens, on Sunday, for the Asifa, a gathering decrying the dangers of the Internet. Organizers have also rented the nearby Arthur Ashe Stadium for the overflow crowd. Event spokesman Eytan Kobre said the group wants to teach families how to use technology responsibly.

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Rabbinic Court Annuls 20-Year Marriage: Witnesses not Shabbat Observers

Posted on: May 18th, 2012

In a precedent setting decision, the Chief Judge of the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court Rabbi Eliyahu Abergel this week freed a woman from her aguna status (separated from her husband but unable to marry another) and annulled her marriage because the witnesses who signed the ketubah were not Shabbat observers. The plaintiff's husband had fled Israel to Florida and was refusing to sign a get.

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