In First, Israel Authorizes Chief Rabbinate to Indict Companies for Kashrut Fraud
Justice Ministry now allows the rabbinate to take criminal action against entities that break laws associated with it
Judaism
'My Family Survived the Holocaust by Trading Their Rembrandt for Exit Visas'
This week at the Tel Aviv airport: An Israeli who spent years being 'very busy being gay' and is now focusing on what Judaism means to him, and a French expat who loves Paris but feels at home in Jerusalem
Rightist Zealots Have an Unlikely Partner in the War on Secularism
The multiculturalist left in Israel and elsewhere has become so extremist in its embrace of groups that reject democracy that it has turned into the useful idiot of rightist zealots that advocate the supremacy of certain religious and ethnic communities, and undermine the legitimacy of pluralism
You May Not See It, but ultra-Orthodox Women Are Angry
Four types of physical and invisible partitions erase and humiliate ultra-Orthodox women, but it's all women who suffer
Decades After Landmark Ruling, Israel's Chief Rabbinate Recognizes Ethiopian Jewish Community
In the early 1970s, then-Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef recognized Ethiopian Jews, yet many still encountered difficulty being recognized by the rabbinical system
LISTEN: Hijacking the Holocaust for Putin, Politics and Power
On the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of Auschwitz, world leaders descend on Jerusalem for a controversial Holocaust conference. Russia's Putin will be there, but Poland is staying away. LISTEN FREE
Opinion Fascism Just Isn't Fun Enough for Israelis
There's no problem for Israel to be Jewish and democratic simultaneously, so long as the two terms remain empty of content
Most State-funded Hannukah Shows Had Male-only Casts
Of 34 performances that included female performers this holiday season in Israel, nearly half were directed at female-only audiences
2010-2019 The Decade Israel’s Reform and Conservative Jews Fought an Uphill Battle
The non-Orthodox movements have experienced impressive growth in their number of congregations since 2010. However, the Chief Rabbinate’s grip on matters of religion and state is proving hard to loosen | 2010-2019 roundup: Part 2
Sexual Assault Allegations Rock an Israeli Hasidic Community
The son of Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, leader of Ger Hasidic community, has been accused of abusing male yeshiva students over years ■ Sect, which denies allegations, did not notify authorities and paid a large sum to prevent publication
Bible-era Temple Found Near Jerusalem May Be Linked to Ark of the Covenant
Unusual slab uncovered in 3,100-year-old Beth Shemesh temple recalls biblical ‘large stone’ on which the ark once rested, suggesting kernels of history in the Bible are much older than thought
Israeli Couples Face Crisis of Faith as Secular-religious Divide Becomes Personal
'Mixed' couples, where one of them either left religion or became newly pious, share the challenges they face at home and in the community: 'In Israel everyone tries to put you into a box, in the U.S. you’re a Jew and that’s it'
They Felt Pressured to Get Circumcised After Moving to Israel. They Now Regret It
Tens of thousands of teen boys and men from the former Soviet Union were herded into Israeli operating rooms beginning in the '90s to undergo circumcisions. Years later, they recall the resulting trauma and pain, and the damage wrought on their sex lives
The Cult Following of Gershom Scholem, Founder of Modern Kabbala Research
Israeli academia has a new, independent stream of Jewish studies. Its prophet: Gershom Scholem
Why Israel Is the Perfect Place to Address the 'Psyche's Duality,' According to a Jungian Psychologist
This week at the Tel Aviv airport: A Russian therapist who believes in fostering 'chemistry between people’s souls,' and an Israeli woman on a religious mission
Less God but Plenty of Self-reflection: Teaching the Bible in Israel’s Schools Today
Since the ‘60s the Bible’s standing has diminished in Israel amid a general decline in the humanities and reading skills. Teachers tell Haaretz how they make the subject real
WATCH Deborah Lipstadt at Haaretz Judaism Conference: Israeli Government 'Sold Out' Memory of the Holocaust
Haaretz hosted its first ever Judaism, Israel and Diaspora Conference. Its vision: To expand the definition of Judaism
When You Learn Your Grandpa Was a Jewish Partisan Hero – and a Fervent Stalinist
A French journalist explores three generations of 'bad Jews'
Analysis The Split in Israel's Biggest Hasidic Court Shows That No Rabbi Is Immune
First came the ultra-Orthodox online forums in the '90s, then it was social media and now WhatsApp groups, where followers are unafraid to criticize rabbis
An anti-Zionist Movement That Promoted Judaism as a Secular Culture Shuts Its Doors
They believed in a just society and wanted to teach Palestinians Yiddish. The Bund’s center in Israel closes, marking the end of a movement that offered a radical alternative to mainstream Zionism
Opinion With Religious Influence a Key Issue in Israel's Election, Everybody Wins
It's become the center-left’s most effective issue, an emotional one like hatred for Netanyahu. And it's a godsend, so to speak, for Lieberman
Rabbinical Court: Cheating Wife to Get Less Than Usual Half of Joint Property
In unprecedented verdict based on civil law, judges decide that wife who had an affair for over a decade will receive only 20% of property she and spouse accrued during that period
U.S. 'Leftists' vs. the Israeli Establishment: Tensions Rise in the Ger Hasidic Sect
The growing split between the Gerer leadership in Israel and its U.S. branch has spawned oppositionists' support of a person boycotted by its all-powerful rabbi – and punishment of 'rebels'