Jewish News

Tattoos on Jews: Myths and Jewish Law

If a Jew gets a tattoo, he or she cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery. But is that statement a fact, or a myth? And what about Jews who are tattooed unwillingly?Tattoo artist Kevin Campbell is Jewish. He’s currently tattooing a Jewish-themed image on Brandan Lobenfeld, who is also Jewish. Both believe their Jewish tattoos are a way to ...

Come Visit Non-Orthodox Kotel Section

Bayit Yehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett, who is also the Minister of Religions, and Minister of Jerualem and the Diaspora, among his other portfolios, issued a call to members of Reform, Conservative, and other non-Orthodox streams, to visit the new prayer section that the Ministry of Religions has set up next to the Kotel Plaza.“Today we opened a new section in ...

Eliot Spitzer Courts Young Crown Heights Voters

Several dozen members of the Crown Heights Jewish community gathered tonight, August 26, at the Basil Pizza & Wine Bar to meet with Democratic candidate for New York City Comptroller Eliot Spitzer.Mr. Spitzer previously served as attorney general and governor of New York State, before a scandal forced his resignation.He was invited to make his case before voters in the ...

Muriel Siebert, First Woman on N.Y. Stock Exchange, Dies

Muriel Siebert, the first woman to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, has died.Siebert, who also became the first woman to head a member firm of the exchange as well as many other firsts, died Saturday in Manhattan from complications of cancer. She was 80.Siebert also was the first woman to be appointed as superintendent of banking ...

WOW Oppose New Prayer Area at Kotel

Women of the Wall staged a sit-in Sunday in protest of Minister Naftali Bennett’s outline for a new prayer area in the Western Wall.After months of disagreements regarding Women of the Wall’s right to pray in the Wall, Bennett announced Sunday a new prayer area for the Women of the Wall as part of an agreement between the group and ...

MK Calderon a Hit in Australian Media

During the current Knesset recess, MK Ruth Calderon (Yesh Atid) has been on a trip to Australia – and has found herself to be a big media hit. Interviewed by numerous media outlets, Calderon has received positive press as a woman who is “bringing a breath of fresh air” to many of the issues that plague Israel, both internal and ...

New Sefer Torah Completed in Honor of Kazi Benjamin

On Sunday, August 25, hundreds of members of the Crown Heights community gathered to mark two years since the untimely passing of Kazi (Kasriel) Benjamin, OBM.It was a bittersweet event, as friends and relatives remembered Kazi’s warm smile and good deeds, while celebrating the completion of new Sefer Torah, which was commissioned in Kazi’s memory by the members of Itchke’s ...

German Probe of 50 Alleged Ex-Auschwitz Guards Nears End, Charges Likely

The head of the special German prosecutors’ office that investigates Nazi crimes says a probe of 50 suspected former Auschwitz guards is near complete and may result in charges against many of them.Berlin’s taz newspaper reports more than 40 suspects were found to be still alive in Germany. Prosecutor Kurt Schrimm told The Associated Press on Monday his office planned ...

Sid Bernstein, the Man Behind Beatlemania, Dies at 95

Music promoter Sid Bernstein, who worked with legends from Judy Garland to Jimi Hendrix and orchestrated the Beatles’ historic concert in New York’s Shea Stadium in 1965, died on Wednesday aged 95.Bernstein also arranged for U.S. concerts featuring Shoshana Damari, Yaffa Yarkoni, Shaike Ophir and other Israeli artists. “It was just as important to him,” Jason Ressler, who directed “Sid ...

Abbas to Host Rosh Hashana Toast with MKs

Knesset members are used to attending new year’s toasts with their supporters around the country ahead of Rosh Hashana.But as many as 40 ministers and MKs will be attending a very different toast on the eve of Rosh Hashana this year when they travel to Ramallah at the invitation of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas.Abbas invited the Knesset’s Caucus on ...

Haredim Combat Smoking Epidemic

Although recent years have seen a drop in the number of ultra-Orthodox smokers and a rise in the sector’s awareness of the dangers of smoking, the percentage of smokers in the haredi society is believed to be relatively high compared to the general population in Israel.According to Yaakov Solomon, a haredi smoking cessation instructor from Beitar Illit, becoming addicted to ...

City Faces Balancing Act as Hasidic Community Grows

Needing to abide by their traditions of modesty, Hasidic women want the city to post a female lifeguard during a women-only swim session at a municipal pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and have lobbied a local councilman to take up their cause.On another front, Hasidic matzo bakeries, citing ancient Jewish law, have insisted on using water from groundwater wells rather than ...