Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt is a journalist living in New York City. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Tablet, The Forward and Moment, among other publications. She teaches journalism at Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women, and can be reached on Twitter at @avitalrachel.
Many in the Jewish community in the U.S. bury their heads in the ground when the subject of illegal immigrants is raised. Instead, they should remember their roots and rise above the tide and advocate their rights
The lecture by Rabbi Joseph Dweck has deepened the rift among Syrian Sephardi Jews the world over
In a major step for Orthodox leadership, 16 prominent rabbis warn Jewish institutions about Yosef Mizrachi, a lecturer with a cult-like following.
I had assumed that women would protest sexism and sexual assault at the ballot box, and vote instead for the first woman president. But, it appears, race is stronger than gender.
America's religious Jews worry about a resurgence of anti-Semitism, and the GOP candidate taps into that fear, despite the alt-right's Jew hatred.
Esther Farbstein is the leading Haredi scholar on the Shoah, shining a much-needed light on the struggles of observant Jews during WWII. But she worries that the Holocaust has become too big a part of modern Jewish identity.
The Republican presidential candidate attempts to court Russian and Orthodox Jewish communities with his own brand of conservatism and diehard support of Israel.
Failed Messiah says farewell: Shmarya Rosenberg reflects on a decade of airing the dirty laundry of Orthodox communities, from kosher slaughterhouse scandals to sexual abuse.
From an Iranian diplomat who helped Jews in France to a Muslim-Indian spy, a campaign by the I Am Your Protector group hopes to inspire coexistence by commemorating unlikely saviors.
In 1900 Harlem was the world’s largest Jewish community, after Krakow and the Lower East Side.
Infighting pushes some ultra-Orthodox rabbis to ban university studies for women, but many female students say the decision puts them in an impossible situation and vow to keep learning.
As New York community honors Morocco's WWII king, Diaspora Jews increase their links with moderate Arab countries, quietly forming a bridge between them and Israel.
UN General Assembly passed resolution condemning Zionism 40 years ago, but the real hero of the day was Ambassador Chaim Herzog, who gave a historic speech defending the need for a Jewish national movement.
In 'Teaching Ignorance,' filmmaker Tamara Erde offers powerful footage of bright educators who teach one narrative and yet seem oblivious to the existence of another. A must-see for teachers in conflict zones.
But the film ‘Censored Voices,’ in which army veterans do the talking, would do well to include other censored voices – those of religious soldiers.
Eitam was a respected scholar; his mother teaches Talmud to scores of American women and trains them as Halakchic advisers.
In our era of skepticism and apathy, this kind of respect for a religious leader is jarring. But also, no matter what religion you subscribe to, it's actually refreshing.
As a married woman, I get to see the other side of the dating world these days – that of the ‘matchmaker’ – and wonder what message is being sent to my generation of bright, religiously passionate women.
The three main English-language Haredi publications – Hamodia, Yated Ne'eman and Mishpacha – have to set their boundaries carefully.
By honoring successful assimilated Jews like Michael Douglas, Genesis Prize legitimizes a diverse form Judaism- regardless of pedigree or conversion.
Freshman Long Island Congressman Lee Zeldin’s brief career so far ranges from focus on Middle East policy to private helicopter pads in the Hamptons.
Organizer Shmuley Boteach tells receptive audience: 'The appetite for Jewish blood is back.'
Texas Senator and GOP presidential hopeful says that administration’s policy on Israel is 'most antagonistic in history.'
There is nothing new about protests against progressive groups participating in the Israel Day Parade. But this year, the campaign is far wider.
Our American friends don’t understand that we grew up in the shadow of War, the only War that ever was.
We are caught less between countries and more between two leaders with whom we are uncomfortable, torn between that eternal dissonance of the defiant and submissive Jew.
Being an Orthodox Jew in the Diaspora – that is, being openly and defiantly different – is not easy.
In her new memoir, 'Paper Love,' Sarah Wildman finds a mysterious trove of letters in her lategrandfather’s files and sets out on an international treasure hunt for his lost lover.
What if they had live-tweeted the Dresden bombings, with the Allies rushing to explain the necessity and then Goebbels in turn tweeting pictures of wounded German children taken in 1915? Thanks to social media we have become both ambassadors and voyeurs.
Two biographies of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who passed away 20 years ago this week, were written by his most prodigious followers.