Shas Leader: Meron Disaster Is Sign From Heaven, but We Are Not Exempt From Scrutiny
Israeli state comptroller Matanyahu Englman is due to arrive at Mount Meron on Tuesday, making it the first step in the investigation into the disaster
Orthodox Jews
Mount Meron Disaster: Shock and Grief in Israeli City That Lost Six Residents
Six ultra-Orthodox residents of Beit Shemesh were among the 45 killed in last Friday's disaster in the Galilee, and many of the city’s residents quickly rallied around the families of the victims
The Place Where Netanyahu's Efforts to Form a Coalition Hit a Wall of Suspicion
The prime minister is trying to convince Israel's far right to join a coalition that will rely on cooperation with the Islamists. But practical issues surrounding the Bedouin communities in the Negev are complicating his political maneuvers
Opinion Benjamin Netanyahu, Godfather of Israel's Rising Jewish Fundamentalism
Jewish extremism has broken its Haredi glass ceiling with the rise of the ultra-nationalist, virulently racist Religious Zionism party, and it's thanks to staunchly secular Netanyahu. But the battle for Judaism's future will continue after he's gone
'I’m a Regular Haredi, but With an Open Mind. There Are Many Like Me'
This week at the Tel Aviv airport: One Israeli trying to make it as a singer, and another trying to make it to Los Angeles for a wedding against all odds
Opinion ‘Dead Goyim Leg’: NBC's 'Antisemitic' TV Clip Is More Accurate Than We’d Like to Admit
The outrage over the portrayal of an ultra-Orthodox family refusing a transplant from a non-Jew is hollow when so many Orthodox Jews hold racist attitudes towards gentiles and refuse to donate organs to them
Why a Prominent U.S. Orthodox Group Dumped Its Trump-loving Leadership
During the Trump years, the National Council of Young Israel became so political, it found itself entangled in the president's impeachment trial. Last week, grassroots activists forced the organization to change course.
More Scared of COVID Than Rumors, These Pregnant Orthodox Women Chose to Get the Jab
The message is getting out, say N.Y.-area health-care workers: Between 'going on a vent' and getting a shot – it's best for expecting moms to avoid the worst-case scenario of COVID-19 infection
Opinion Trump Lawyer David Schoen Shames Orthodox Jews Like Me
I am familiar with David Schoen’s navigation between Jewish observance and public life. But my empathy with him is transient. As Donald Trump’s lawyer, instead of honoring Orthodox Jewish identity, he is debasing it
Fearing Repeat of Last Year, U.S. Orthodox Jewish Groups Urge Community to Comply With COVID Restrictions for Purim
Citing the experience of last year’s holiday, which became a super-spreader event, the Orthodox Union and Rabbinical Council of America are stressing the need for caution this year
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Prefer a Jewish State to a Democratic One, Survey Finds
Israel Democracy Institute’s Democracy Index finds under 10 percent of respondents trust the justice system, and 82 percent believe segregation from Arabs is necessary to preserve a Jewish identity
Opinion The Only Way to Wean America's Orthodox Jews Off Trumpism
The Capitol siege has, finally, triggered calls for soul-searching within an Orthodox community in lockstep with Trump. It will be hard work
Opinion Is 'Jewish' a Nationality or Religion? Inside Israel's Fierce, Bitter Debate About Identity
How one man’s quest, half a century ago, for the right to define his own family’s identity unwittingly set up a momentous clash between Israel’s secular and religious power centers, changed the Law of Return and still fuels conflict over who is a Jew
Belgium's Top Court Reverses COVID-19 Ban on Houses of Worship Following Jewish Petition
The court's ruling, which applies to all houses of worship, finds the government's measures 'disproportionate'
In Turnaround, Israel's Religious Elementary Schools Have More Mixed-gender Classes
Mixed-gender religious school classes tend to be located in relatively well-off communities, but have a high percentage of children from poorer families, study finds
Orthodox Rapper Nissim Black’s New Single Remakes ‘Hava Nagila’ Just in Time for Hanukkah
'The Hava Song' features Black rapping about gratitude, his place in Jewish society and even allusions to the coming Messianic age
What Yuval Noah Harari Thinks About Women’s Fight for Equal Rights at the Western Wall
The acclaimed philosopher believes zealous discrimination against one group – like Women of the Wall – is a way for religion to hide the radical changes it has embraced
Opinion Why Are Jews Flinging anti-Semitic Libels at Jews Who Simply Want to Pray in Synagogue?
Orthodox Jews helped win a Supreme Court victory for religious freedom in America. The response? Rank bigotry, insults and wild accusations – from fellow Jews
Opinion SCOTUS ‘Religious Freedom’ Ruling: Supremely Irresponsible, Immoral and Profoundly unJewish
We Jews already made a crucial decision about what religious freedom really means some 2,000 years ago. And it isn’t about defying COVID, shirking social solidarity and sanctifying death
New York Governor Warns of Legal Action Against Organizers of Mass Jewish Wedding
Andrew Cuomo calls the wedding, organized in secrecy for some 7,000 attendees, a ‘blatant disregard of the law’ and ‘disrespectful to the people of New York’
Why Orthodox Jews Believe Studying Torah Protects From COVID-19
And how Judaism reconciled the conundrum of why the righteous may suffer and the wicked thrive over the ages
Orthodox Jewish Groups Turn to U.S. Supreme Court to Lift New York's COVID-19 Restrictions
Filing comes after Agudath Israel of America lost a similar lawsuit in federal court last month
'I Fast Out of Respect for the Congregants. But I Would Feel Great Eating Shrimp on Yom Kippur'
What do ultra-Orthodox people do if they cease to believe but are fearful of losing all they hold dear? Answer: They lead a double life
U.S. Orthodox Leadership Congratulated Biden, but Many in Community Stick to Trump
While official Orthodox organizations moved quickly to congratulate the Biden-Harris ticket, pro-Trumpers are encouraging the president to pursue legal action
Do We Have to Reveal Our Sexual Past to Our Partners? Supreme Court Might Soon Decide
An Orthodox woman says her ex-husband should have told her he had conducted a gay relationship. The man's lawyers say all people have a personal story that they're entitled to keep to themselves
1948-2020 The Contradictions of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
As one of the stream’s most prominent and influential rabbis, Jonathan Sacks personified the contradictions and limitations of Modern Orthodoxy, especially in the Diaspora – not being traditional enough for Haredim, too cautious for non-Orthodox Jews, and too foreign for Israelis
Opinion Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the Modern Orthodox Ideal Who Couldn't Thwart Orthodoxy's Slide to the Right
The former UK Chief Rabbi was a model for a modern Orthodox generation, excelling in both Jewish and secular learning, and elucidating Jewish thought to a global audience with intellect and grace. But he bent those principles with the compromises he made with religious conservatives to his right