World Jewish News

Rabbis ponder coronavirus queries of ultra-Orthodox Jewish life

Rabbis ponder coronavirus queries of ultra-Orthodox Jewish life

Months into the pandemic, religious leaders in Israel are finally addressing questions on how to maintain proper Jewish observance under the restrictions of the outbreak,… Read More ›

Israel’s modern Yom Kippur debacle

Israel’s modern Yom Kippur debacle

During the first wave of the virus, Israel bought thousands of ventilators because it thought that’s what was needed. Did it recruit or train staff… Read More ›

Israelis mark Yom Kippur under ‘painful’ virus lockdown

Israelis mark Yom Kippur under ‘painful’ virus lockdown

The holiest day in the Jewish calendar has been marred with political battles over openings of synagogues and limits on gatherings as Israel’s quietest day… Read More ›

Op-Ed: Who by plague? Far fewer, if we can rediscover a spirit of mutual responsibility

Op-Ed: Who by plague? Far fewer, if we can rediscover a spirit of mutual responsibility

COVID doesn’t distinguish between Orthodox and secular, left and right, Jew and Arab. But it does have its limits. Whatever our leaders’ failures, we, the… Read More ›

The Mitzvah to Eat Today

The Mitzvah to Eat Today

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com THE MITZVAH The Shulchan Aruch (OC 604:1) rules that there is a Torah Mitzvah on Erev Yom Kippur to… Read More ›

3 New York Hasidic Jews die of COVID-19 as cases in Orthodox communities mount

3 New York Hasidic Jews die of COVID-19 as cases in Orthodox communities mount

Patients pronounced dead hours after arriving at Borough Park hospital; source familiar with victims laments communal denial that led to spike   Three members of… Read More ›

As a new outbreak grows in Brooklyn, mask-wearing appears to remain scarce

As a new outbreak grows in Brooklyn, mask-wearing appears to remain scarce

Virus cases are spiking in some New York Orthodox communities, but various factors are preventing widespread adoption of a practice experts say can help keep… Read More ›

An Orthodox Jewish Multiracial Family In Montana Wants To Break Taboos About Adoption

An Orthodox Jewish Multiracial Family In Montana Wants To Break Taboos About Adoption

  MONTANA (JTA) – In many ways, Chavie and Chaim Bruk are the archetype of Chabad emissaries. The couple live in Montana, one of only… Read More ›

Israeli society, heal thyself

Israeli society, heal thyself

Opinion: Despite the lack of trust in the government, the people of this country must work together to reinvigorate a sense of mutual responsibility and… Read More ›

NYC authorities raise alarm as new virus outbreaks spotted in Orthodox areas

NYC authorities raise alarm as new virus outbreaks spotted in Orthodox areas

Health officials finger 6 neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens with spiking numbers for contributing one-fifth of all new cases in city, sparking fears of repeat… Read More ›

Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be first Jew and first woman to lie in state at Capitol

Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be first Jew and first woman to lie in state at Capitol

Plan marks a departure from Jewish tradition, which dictates that a body should be buried within 24 hours, with some exceptions; justice to be buried… Read More ›

Biden: Antisemitism in Charlottesville compelled me to run for president

Biden: Antisemitism in Charlottesville compelled me to run for president

“One of the things that got me involved in this race.. was when those folks came out of the fields down in Charlottesville chanting,” Biden… Read More ›

One-Third Of Netanyahu’s Voters Believe COVID-19 Was Sent By God

One-Third Of Netanyahu’s Voters Believe COVID-19 Was Sent By God

  JERUSALEM (JTA) — One quarter of Jewish Israelis, and more than one-third of Jews who voted for Benjamin Netanyahu, believes the coronavirus was sent… Read More ›

Opinion: I’m An Orthodox Rabbi Who Takes COVID-19 Very Seriously. Here’s Why My Congregation Is Praying In Person During The High Holidays.

Opinion: I’m An Orthodox Rabbi Who Takes COVID-19 Very Seriously. Here’s Why My Congregation Is Praying In Person During The High Holidays.

  NEW YORK (JTA) — On March 11, we decided to close The Jewish Center, the large Orthodox congregation in Manhattan where I serve as… Read More ›

Abraham Foxman Endorses Biden, Calling Trump A ‘Demagogue’

Abraham Foxman Endorses Biden, Calling Trump A ‘Demagogue’

  NEW YORK (JTA) – Abraham Foxman, the former longtime leader of the Anti-Defamation League, has broken his tradition of not endorsing political candidates to… Read More ›

Kosovo’s Jews Cheer Their Muslim-Majority State’s New Deal With Israel

Kosovo’s Jews Cheer Their Muslim-Majority State’s New Deal With Israel

  PRISTINA (JTA) – For Flori Dedoni, a member of the tiny Jewish community of Kosovo, the news that his country is establishing formal diplomatic… Read More ›

Israel will pay dearly for persecuting its Haredi community

Israel will pay dearly for persecuting its Haredi community

Opinion: Ultra-Orthodox Israelis feel discriminated against and cast out by a government that has failed to persuade religious leaders that new coronavirus measures are necessary;… Read More ›

Emperor Netanyahu has no clothes

Emperor Netanyahu has no clothes

Opinion: ‘King Bibi’ was exposed in his weakness when under pressure from the ultra-Orthodox politicians opposed to lockdown, proving that to him and his ministers,… Read More ›

Profile Of The Most Sought-After Shofar Blower

Profile Of The Most Sought-After Shofar Blower

  JERUSALEM (JNS) – As first-chair trumpet in the Orville Wright Junior High School band in Los Angeles in 1966, Robbie Weinger didn’t know it,… Read More ›

Study gives life-saving impetus for Ashkenazi women to screen for breast cancer

Study gives life-saving impetus for Ashkenazi women to screen for breast cancer

‘This is absolute evidence that you could well be saving your life’ simply by getting screened, Jerusalem researchers report   Jerusalem research gives a new… Read More ›