Knesset Debates Haredi Service After Tal Law Annulled
The Knesset has quickly assumed a proactive role in filling the void left by the the Israeli High Court's decision to annul the Tal Law. Two bills pertaining to mandatory service were already debated and voted upon today, Opposition chairwoman Tzipi Livni continued to blast the low enlistment rate of the Haredi population, and FM Avigdor Lieberman pledged to propose more legislation on the matter in the future.
Conservatives to Ordain Gay and Lesbian Rabbis in Israel
The Board of Trustees of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary voted to accept gay and lesbian students for ordination. “The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary views the serious process leading to this decision as an example of confronting social dilemmas within the framework of tradition and halachah,” Board of Trustees Chair Hanan Alexander said in a statement.
Ashlag Rebbe: Secular Youths Should Be Conscripted into Torah Study
During his weekly talk, the Ashlag Rebbe, Rabbi Simcha Avraham Halevy, challenged politicians who promote the notion of an equal burden, describing them as imbeciles. He proposed a solution to the inequality: "Let every secular boy be forced to bear the burden of defending the homeland of Israel and fulfill his national duty to study Torah and keep the mitzvot." He also said, "The nation of Israel did not survive our brutal history by the deterrence of the IDF, nor by the might of the State of Israel, but by the merit of the study of Torah."
New Israeli Haredi Consumer Is Savvy, Wielding Purchasing Power of $2.6 Billion
Haredi consumers are not, by and large, part of Israel's social protest movement, but their shopping savvy, it turns out, is evolving constantly.
Yad Yair Refugees Recite Lamentations at the Ruins of their Homes
On Saturday night, Tisha B'Av 5772, some 50 men, women and children, members of the settlement nucleus of Yad Yair, together with the Benjamin Settlers Committee and residents of Gush Talmonim, mourned the destruction of Jerusalem, and shared their private grief over the destruction of their settlement more than three years ago by the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria.
After 8 Years, Body Was Relocated for Spiritual Reasons with R. Elyashiv’s Blessings
Senior Jerusalem rabbis permitted a late-night removal of the body of a Haredi rabbi from its grave, on the night between Thursday and Friday last week, because family members, who are Breslov Hasidim, claimed the "spiritual level" of the nearby dead was insufficient, causing what could be considered the desecration of the dead.
Haredi Rabbis Decided: Yeshiva Students May Go to Recruitment Centers, But ‘Must Not Sign...
Against the background of the expiration on August 1 of the Tal Law, which attempted to manage Haredi recruitment, the Moetzes Gdolei HaTorah (Assembly of Torah Sages), the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of several Haredi organizations in Israel convened Monday night in Bnei Brak at the home of leader of the Lithuanian sector, Rav Steinman, to solidify the policy of military conscription.
New Campaign: Tight Pants Are Sinful and Corrupting
We have grown accustomed to these letters being directed at Haredi women. Now, surprisingly, this letter is addressed specifically to the men.
Tzohar Launches Campaign to Improve Israeli Rabbinate, Rabbinic Services
Among the items that Tzohar is calling for will be to elect new rabbinical court judges who would be more open to the needs of the general public, not just the religiously observant sectors; and new guidelines for managing the marriage, divorce and conversion processes in Israel – three areas that have been particularly alienating to secular Israelis.
High Court Hears Petition against Mikvah for Married Women Only
Israel's Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Minister of Religious Affairs Yaakov Margi and the Chief Rabbinate Council to explain why they not allow single women to immerse in state-run mikvahs.
‘Because It’s Ours’ – Tent City Rises in Hebron on Shabbat Chaye Sarah (Video)
Toward early mid-afternoon the tents start popping up on the lawn in the park across from the Cave of Machpela.
Lapid on Jerusalem and the Palestinians
Yesh Atid perceives a possible peace process as a response to an ensemble of threats looming over the State of Israel.
Rabbinical Assembly Unhappy about WOW Arrests
Two Conservative rabbis were among the women arrested.
IDF, Religious Students Oppose Supermodel in Pro-Israel Ads
Israeli military officers and religious students are objecting to the selection of supermodel Bar Refaeli as part of an ad campaign to raise Israel's...
Kosher for Passover Cigarettes for the Jew Who Has ‘Everything’
Pst! Heard the latest “humras” for Passover. A group of Haredi rabbis put their seal of approval for Kosher for Passover cigarettes. Israeli’s chief rabbis respond: Poison is not kosher at any time.
Tshuva: No Shabbat Desecration Occurred
Yitzchak Tshuva expressed regret that the gas flow's arrival into Israel was being presented as having desecrated the Shabbat or the Pesach Holiday.
Kotel Rabbi Promises Women Won’t Be Arrested for Saying ’Kaddish’
Israel’s Haredi rabbis continue to make a mockery of themselves and of Judaism by pressing to arrest women for saying the mourner’s prayer at the Kotel. Sharansky comes to the rescue.
US Jewish Women’s Council Wants Israel to Certify Civil Marriages
Do Israeli orthodox rabbis have a “monopoly?” Should Diaspora Jews try to pull Israel’s domestic strings? The National Council of Jewish Women seems to say “yes” to both questions.
Sharansky to Suggest Women’s Kotel Prayers Away from Main Plaza
Sharansky says the Western Wall is long enough for women to have their own minyan and Torah reading. The Women of the Wall leader accepts the compromise. Will the Rabbinate big enough to agree?
Peres: Torah Does Not Ban Women Wearing Tallis at Western Wall
President Peres showed off his lack of knowledge of Jewish law and told the NY UJA, “The Torah does not ban women from wearing a tallis.”
IDF Soldiers Clean Up Desecrated Hebron Monument
During a Passover tour, participants were shocked to see the monument of Joshua Salome desecrated with black spray paint.
TIME Lists Yair Lapid as One of Top 100 Influential Leaders
Yair Lapid is handsome, charismatic and ego-centric, all that takes to become a political leader and for TIME Magazine to rate him as one of the world’s top 100 influential people in the world.
Netanyahu Approves Egalitarian Section at Western Wall
The women win a battle, but the question is, “Do they want a war they might lose?” Netanyahu approves Sharansky’s plan for women to pray like men in an “egalitarian” section at the Western Wall.
Deputy Minister Calls Haredim ‘Parasites’ on Radio
If Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid has any hopes of gaining one or even two Haredim as his fans, his deputy Finance Minister blew it “on air” when he called Haredim “parasites” on a Haredi radio program.
Fraud Charges Pending against Conversion Reversing Rabbi
Rabbi Avraham Sherman could be charged with fraud, breach of trust, obstruction of justice, and abuse of office.
Bill Advances to Guarantee Women on Panel to Nominate Rabbis
The absence of Haredi parties in the government is already being, and women probably will be among those nominating Israel’s next rabbinic judges and chief rabbis.
Jerusalem Residents Protest Plan to Close Cineplex on Shabbat
Approximately Jerusalem residents, including Meretz party supporters, protested on front of City Hall Saturday night against a plan to close a new movie theater...
Haredi Paper Equates Lapid and Hitler Speeches
Hitler wanted to exterminate Jews. Lapid only wants to exterminate the Haredi habit of not to work or serve in the IDF. That is enough for a Haredi columnist to compare Lapid’s and Hitler’s speeches.
Livni Pushes for Law Banning Segregation of Women
Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni ordered her ministry on Thursday to draft legislation that would make the gender-based segregation of women illegal.
"Discrimination against women...
Vicious Graffiti Sprayed on Home of Women of the Wall Official
Vandals spray painted the Jerusalem home of a long-time board member of the Women of the Wall (WOW) with vicious graffiti, the first time...