Jewish News

Rabbis: Resume parking lot protests

The Eda Haredit ultra-Orthodox movement is calling on the haredi public to resume protests against the desecration of Shabbat in Jerusalem, starting with a mass rally this Saturday at the capital’s Mea Shearim neighborhood.Saturday’s protest will mark two years and 100 Shabbats since the municipality began operating the Karta parking lot in the on weekends.In ads posted in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox ...

Rabbis pray for rain on hot air balloon

Before dawn on Thursday, Rabbis Menashe Malka and Reuven Deri boarded a hot air balloon and ascended 1,000 feet in the air in order to pray for timely rain.The two were joined by Eshkol Regional Council Head Haim Yalin and Sdot Negev Regional Head Council Meir Yifrach, as well as beauty queen Shavit Wiesel and other worshippers.The group, which took ...

Rabbis’ Open Letter to Morsi in NYDailyNews

On Wednesday, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Yitzchok Adlerstein, Director of Interfaith Affairs for the Center, wrote an open letter to recently elected Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, in which they accuse the so-called Egyptian democracy of anti-Semitism and hold the regime accountable for a double standard, citing Mohammed Badie, Morsi’s religious adviser.The letter was ...

Rabbis Offer Plan for Non-Orthodox Prayer at Wall

Two leading national-religious rabbis have expressed support for accommodating non-Orthodox prayer at the Western Wall.Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, dean of the Hesder Yeshiva in Petah Tikva, said one solution could be to designate different hours for Orthodox and non-Orthodox prayer.“Jerusalem is at the heart of the Jewish people, and if we want all of the Jewish people to feel connected there ...

Rabbi’s ‘offensive’ remarks harm peace efforts

The United States on Sunday condemned remarks by the spiritual leader of Israel’s leading ultra-Orthodox party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who said the Palestinians should “perish”.“We regret and condemn the inflammatory statements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,” U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley. “These remarks are not only deeply offensive, but incitement such as this hurts the cause of peace.”Read More: @ ...

Rabbis Meet with EU Ambassador to Israel

A senior delegation of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace (RCP) met today with Ambassador Andrew Standley, the Head of the European Union in Israel, to present the Torah view on the issue of giving up land to the Arabs.The rabbis made it clear that the majority of rabbis in Israel and abroad are of the opinion that is absolutely forbidden ...

Rabbis Launch Battle on Men’s Skinny Jeans

A new decree signed by top Israeli rabbis this week prohibits devout men from wearing tight pants.“Every Jewish man is mandated by the holy Torah to dress modestly in loose-fitting clothing,” read the edict, which was published in the ultra-Orthodox media.The public service messages were accompanied by pictures of Jewish men in times of old dressed in loose, gown-like attire.The ...

Rabbis hold 1st mixed-prayer service in Knesset

A historic prayer service was conducted in the Knesset on Wednesday by a leadership mission of the North American Masorti-Conservative movement, the first mixed men’s and women’s service ever held there.The group, comprised of male and female rabbis and communal leaders from the US and Canada, met with several MKs to discuss the issue of religion and state, including Ministers ...

Rabbis: Filter Websites in Women’s Workplaces

Senior ultra-Orthodox rabbis have issued a new order concerning women as part of their battle against the dangers posed by the Internet.During a special conference in Bnei Brak, aimed at “saving the Jewish people from the harms of technology,” the rabbis – led by prominent Lithuanian leader, Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman – determined that “women’s workplaces should also be ...

Rabbis call for fast to mark 5 yrs since disengagement

A fast day has been called for Wednesday in commemoration of the synagogues of the Gaza Strip that were destroyed following the disengagement. The 8th of Elul marks the fifth year according to the Hebrew calendar since the completion of the withdrawal from 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, followed by the destruction of at least 30 synagogues. Four ...

Rabbis Behind Bars: What do We do When our Jewish Leaders Fail Us?

This week, a rabbi from New York was convicted of money laundering. Rabbi Mordchai Fish was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for laundering close to a million dollars in what he thought were illicit funds through a religious charity. We should be flabbergasted that a teacher and preacher of Judaism should stoop so low. But, of course, we’re ...

Rabbis attend burial ceremony of dozens of Holocaust-era victims in Romania

The remains of dozens of Jews killed by Romanian troops during World War II have been buried in a Jewish graveyard in the eastern city of Iasi.The daily Eveniumentual Zilei reported Tuesday that seven rabbis from the United States, Britain and Romania took part in Monday afternoon’s ceremony.In November, a Holocaust-era mass grave containing the bodies of an estimated100 Jews ...