1 hr ago | Denver Post
"Women of the Wall" fight: Neither side wins until the Torah, not trends, consulted
The saga about the Women of the Wall, where a group of women are fighting for the right to to pray at the Western Wall in the same way men do -including reading from the Torah - is a recent and painful example of the clash of modern societal expectations and conservative norms.
6 hrs ago | Forward
Jewish Scouting Leaders Rejoice Over Decision To Include Gay Youth in Troops
Jewish scouting leaders say they are "overjoyed" after the Boy Scouts of America passed a resolution lifting a ban on gay youth.
10 hrs ago | TheDailyBeast.com
Shaul Magid's Post-Ethnic Judaism
I don't usually recommend academic books to "the general public," but I'll make an exception in this case for American Post-Judaism: Identity and Renewal in a Postethnic Society .
12 hrs ago | Jewish Chronicle
We don't 'marry out'. We are made to
"Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God." - Ruth 1:16 About 15 years ago, my wife leapt on to a Routemaster bus as it was moving away.
16 hrs ago | Jerusalem Post
Details of Olmert's peace offer to Palestinians exposed
In interview with Jerusalem Post Group Hebrew magazine, Olmert says he blames Livni and Barak for breakdown of negotiations with Palestinians; magazine obtains map sketched by Abbas with offered Israeli territorial concessions.
17 hrs ago | Forward
If Rabbis Are Allowed To Intermarry, Get Ready for the Non-Jewish Rabbi
In response to Rabbi Ellen Lippmann's open letter in these pages to the board of governors of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, asking that it reconsider its policy of not ordaining rabbinical students who have non-Jewish spouses or partners, I offer my own open letter to the board: As a committed Jew who cares deeply about the ... (more)
19 hrs ago | Cape Cod Times
Last week, I suggested the conflict is not between religions but between ways of being religious.
After London attack, straight talk for peace from imams: Opinion
People from all three of the Abrahamic faiths like the quote from the Old Testament: "Am I my brother's keeper?" But as often as not they misconstrue its meaning, and forget its context.
Israel in the Gardens | Shifting gears, career women find midlife calling as artists
Adi Braeman was a fashion designer in Israel, creating patterns and supervising production in a small kibbutz factory near Caesarea.
To 'Fill The Void,' A Choice With A Personal Cost
Among the ultra-Orthodox world of Tel Aviv's Haredi Jews, Rivka and her daughter Shira are confronted with a dilemma after a death in the family.
Retired high-ranking Chinese official asks why Jews are so smart
During a speech on Tuesday in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told his audience that the Jews "have contributed greatly to America.
Jewish groups join tornado relief effort
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, announced Tuesday, May 21, that his organization will collect donations and distribute them to the American Red Cross and others on the ground in Oklahoma.
Hareidi MKs Vow to Fight Enlistment Plan
Hareidi Knesset Members are up in arms over the recommendations for enlistment of young hareidi men to the military, which are to be approved by the government in its next session.
New grad finds her leadership niche with USY
It would be easy to say, "Like father, like daughter." Or, you could say she's following in the footsteps of her older sister.
Williamsburg Hasids Use Beards to Reach "Hipsters"
Perhaps inspired by the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn's recent forays into so-called "hipsterdom," a Jewish group has launched a campaign called "Unite the Beards," aiming to bring Williamsburg's hairy masses closer to Hasidic Judaism.
25 000 guests at Jerusalem wedding
There was standing room only in Jerusalem on Monday night as the heir to one of the most important Jewish ultra-orthodox families was married.
Rabbis Demand End of Boy Scouts Gay Ban
More than 500 rabbis and cantors urged the Boy Scouts of America to drop its ban on homosexual members when the youth group's National Council convenes in Dallas this week.
Jewish opponents of Zionism understood the movement since its early age as one that shared the precepts of anti-Semitism in its diagnosis of what gentile Europeans called the "Jewish Question". What galled anti-Zionist Jews the most, however, was that Zionism also shared the "solution" to the Jewish Question that anti-Semites had always advocated, ... (more)
NJ rabbis witness melee at the Kotel NEW
When Amy Small joined the Women of the Wall at the Kotel on May 10, she was not expecting a set of experiences that ranged from the joyous and spiritual to the scary and stomach-churning. That morning, she was among some 400 women - many wearing tallitot and kipot - who arrived at the Kotel to observe Rosh Hodesh, or the new moon service, and to ... (more)
MK Stern's bill on chief rabbi panel passes hurdle
MK Elazar Stern's bill to expand the electoral committee for appointing chief rabbis passed its preliminary reading in the Knesset on Wednesday, 53- 14, following a stormy debate on the issue in the plenum.