Jewish News

Does Judaism Encourage Sexual Pleasure?

A question debated by many in the religious society for generations will be brought up for public discussion for the first time in a first annual halachic conference for women organized by the Puah Institute: Does Judaism encourage sexual pleasure?Many religious and ultra-Orthodox Jews perceive the sexual urge as a symbol of material (or even brutish) passion, and believe that ...

Documents: Bong Baby Pic Deemed Funny

The mother of a baby who appeared to be smoking a bong told a detective she thought it was funny that her 11-month-old son put the bong into his mouth and looked like he was smoking pot, according to court documents released Thursday.Rachel Stieringer, 19, of Keystone Heights, was arrested on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia following the infamous ...

DNA Links Prove Jews are a ‘Race,’ Says Genetics Expert

In his new book, “Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People,” Harry Ostrer, a medical geneticist and professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, claims that Jews are different, and the differences are not just skin deep. Jews exhibit, he writes, a distinctive genetic signature. Considering that the Nazis tried to exterminate Jews based on their ...

District OKs sale of Hillcrest Elementary

The East Ramapo Board of Education in a 7-1 vote Wednesday approved the sale of the Hillcrest Elementary School to the Congregation Yeshiva Avir Yakov for $3.1 million. The decision came after a more than two-hour executive session held during the school board meeting Wednesday night. Trustee Stephen Price was absent.Read More: @ lohud.comReaders found more information by searching for:hillcrest elementary ...

District Court sets precedent by upholding right of ‘aguna’

A woman’s bid to sue her recalcitrant husband for NIS 700,000 in damages after he consistently refused her a get (Jewish divorce) for more than 16 years was upheld this week in a precedent-setting decision by the Tel Aviv District Court, The Jerusalem Post learned Wednesday.“The woman standing before us has been held hostage by the [husband] who has no ...

Disappointment As Judge Fails To Overturn The Sentence Of 6 Yrs for Yakov Yosef Ben Raizel

We and the defence attorneys are upset to have to report that the Tokyo High Court failed to overturn the ruling of the district court.However, the presiding appelate judge did show leniency when calculating the credit for time served off the initial sentence. In total the judge deducted 814 days from the 6 year sentence, eventhough these days were spent ...

Disabled Immigrants to Receive Rent Benefits

Starting on Monday, disabled olim will receive financial aid from the government in order to pay rent.The cabinet decision was made as part of the housing portion of the recommendations of the Trajtenberg Report, which Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered to examine the nation’s socioeconomic problems after the summer 2011 housing protests.The cabinet approved the report in fall 2011.The immigrants ...

Dior designer fired over alleged anti-Semitic slurs

British fashion designer John Galliano was fired by the Christian Dior fashion house after allegedly harassing a couple using anti-Semitic and racist slurs.Galliano’s firing as chief designer for Christian Dior was announced Tuesday, just days after he was suspended from the house.Galliano’s harassment of the couple in a Paris bar, which he has denied, was reported last week. On Monday, ...

DioGuardi Reaches Out to NY Orthodox Jewish Republicans for Petitions

It was widely reported that former Republican Congressman Joe DioGuardi filed July 15 an excess of 25,000 signatures to appear on the ballot of the September 14, 2010 Republican Primary in New York to challenge Senator Christian Gillibrand (D) in November. What went unreported, however, was the concerted effort by Mr. DioGuardi to get as many signatures possible from within ...

DioGuardi Flying Below the Radar in the Jewish Community

While visits to Orthodox communities by NY state-wide candidates such as Cuomo, Paladino and Donavan have come and gone with a splash – a negative splash that is, Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Joe DioGuardi is busy – below the radar – garnering as much support AS possible.way back to the petition process in mid-June and July, Mr. DioGuardi personally sought ...

Different Leaders for Different Times

This week’s portion of Pinhas emphasizes different types of leadership – and especially the necessary switch-over from the authoritative, majestic, scepter-staff leadership of Moses to the very different, humanistic and democratic leadership of Joshua. What we must therefore analyze is the difference between Moses’s leadership and the leadership of Joshua – and why each was vitally necessary for its respective ...

Did You Know Locusts Were Kosher?

The men behind a unique six-hour eating marathon in Jerusalem want diners to know two things about locusts: First, they taste great stir-fried, and second, they’re kosher. When 240 observant Jews sat down to the 18-course dinner earlier this month, they were served a veritable zoo of animals that were unlikely candidates to be eaten under traditional Jewish dietary laws, ...