Orthodox Jews

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Israel's Ultra-Orthodox Can't Avoid Draft, Top Court Rules

Supreme Court calls out 'inequality' in draft enforcement

(Newser) - Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students, some of whom have say they'd rather die than fight, must be drafted for military service anyway, the country's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The landmark decision threatens to destabilize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, reports the New York Times . Israelis...

Frontier: Maskless Fliers, Not Anti-Semitism, Canceled Flight

Flight out of Miami to NYC canceled after Sunday incident with Hasidic Jewish passengers

(Newser) - A chaotic scene on a Frontier Airlines flight before takeoff ended with a group of Hasidic Jews being asked to leave, the entire plane eventually being emptied, and now, accusations of anti-Semitism—all over what the airline says was the group's refusal to wear face masks. The incident took...

Amid COVID Tensions in NYC, a Nasty Jewish Insult
Amid COVID Tensions in NYC,
a Nasty Jewish Insult
the rundown

Amid COVID Tensions in NYC, a Nasty Jewish Insult

Jewish reporter called a 'moser,' or informer on fellow Jews, before crowd goes after him

(Newser) - Tensions are high this week in New York City's Orthodox Jewish community over the arrest of a high-profile radio host, anti-lockdown activist, and City Council candidate named Heshy Tischler. He is charged with inciting a riot and unlawful imprisonment after a crowd of his supporters went after a journalist....

In NYC, a 'Most Precarious Moment' in the COVID Timeline

Parts of Queens, Brooklyn are seeing spike in cases; health dept. warns of possible shutdowns

(Newser) - New York City has been slowly reopening since June , with schools set to welcome back many in-person students next week and restaurants opening for indoor dining at the end of September, per Gothamist . But despite this staggered return to some form of normality, certain parts of the city are now...

Suit: I Was Pressured to Move Seats Because I'm a Woman

Passenger sues EasyJet over encounters with Orthodox Jews

(Newser) - A British-Israeli woman is suing EasyJet for discrimination after she says she was twice asked to move seats because of her gender. Melanie Wolfson, 38, says she paid extra for an aisle seat on an October flight from Tel Aviv to London only to be asked to move seats by...

NYC Mayor Issued Warning on the Virus. It Didn't Land Well

Bill de Blasio accused of 'inviting anti-Semitism' after specifically cautioning 'the Jewish community'

(Newser) - New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was met with outrage Tuesday in urging communities to abide by social distancing guidelines in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a series of tweets, de Blasio said he'd personally dispersed a crowd of hundreds gathered to mourn a Hasidic rabbi...

Woman Sues Airline After Being Asked to Move Seats for Man

He said the Torah wouldn't allow him to sit next to a woman

(Newser) - An 81-year-old woman who escaped the Nazis in her youth is suing Israel's national airline after she was asked to switch seats because of her gender, the New York Times reports. "I’ve been around the world, and some guy can decide that I shouldn’t sit next...

2 Babies Get Herpes After Jewish Circumcision Ritual

Ancient ritual involves sucking blood from wound, spitting it aside

(Newser) - An ancient and now rare type of circumcision called metzitzah b'peh, which is sometimes performed by Orthodox Jews on newborn boys, appears to be behind the spread of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) to two newborns in New York this month. Both boys were born to mothers who...

Rabbi Botches Bris, Cuts Off Penis

 Rabbi Botches Bris, 
 Cuts Off Penis 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Rabbi Botches Bris, Cuts Off Penis

Orthodox ceremony in Pittsburgh goes horribly wrong

(Newser) - An orthodox rabbi in Pittsburgh is being sued for accidentally severing a baby's penis during a traditional bris ceremony, CBS Pittsburgh reports. Rabbi Mordechai Rosenberg allegedly botched the bris eight months ago, forcing the baby to be hospitalized for almost two months and undergo six blood transfusions. But doctors...

American Jews Losing Their Religion
American Jews
Losing Their Religion
new survey

American Jews Losing Their Religion

22% now consider themselves non-religious Jews

(Newser) - America has by far the world's largest Jewish population of any country save Israel, but the proportion of them who consider themselves non-religious Jews has surged to 22%, according to a new poll. Around two-thirds of those interviewed did not belong to a synagogue and a third had a...

In Reversal, Israel Police Protect Praying Women

Usually, police arrest women instead

(Newser) - Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews showed up to protest a prayer gathering by the "Women of the Wall" at Jerusalem's holy Western Wall today, hurling chairs, water, and garbage at the women and stones at their buses, Reuters reports. In a reversal, police held back and clashed with the...

10 Women in Israel Detained for Wearing Prayer Shawls

One is Sarah Silverman's sister

(Newser) - Ten women, one the sister of comedian Sarah Silverman, were detained today for wearing prayer shawls at a holy site in Israel. The Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City is under Orthodox ritual law, which only allows men to wear prayer shawls, Reuters reports. Susan Silverman was there as...

Hasidic Therapist Gets 103 Years for Sex Abuse

He was charged with 59 counts

(Newser) - Nechemya Weberman, an unlicensed therapist and powerful member of the Hasidic Jewish community of Brooklyn, will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of 59 counts of sexual abuse yesterday, reports the New York Times . After days of testimony from a victim who says she...

For Orthodox Jewish Men: Glasses That Blur Women

Lenses help keep Israeli females out of sight and temptation

(Newser) - It's the latest prescription for extreme ultra-Orthodox Jewish men who shun contact with the opposite sex: Glasses that blur their vision, so they don't have to see women they consider to be immodestly dressed. In an effort to maintain their strictly devout lifestyle, the ultra-Orthodox have separated the...

Holocaust Memorial Graffiti Blamed on ... Jewish Vandals?

Yad Vashem officials think ultra-Orthodox Jews defaced Israeli memorial

(Newser) - Vandals have defaced an Israel Holocaust memorial, and officials are pointing the finger squarely at ... ultra-Orthodox Jews. Phrases like "Hitler, thank you for the Holocaust," and "Jews, wake up, the evil Zionist regime doesn't protect us, it jeopardizes us" were scrawled at 10 locations at Israel'...

Prophecy Drives Firm to Dig for Diamonds in Israel

And it thinks it has found evidence that it's on the right track

(Newser) - All it took was a prophecy. That was enough to launch Shefa Yamim, an Israeli mining firm that has spent more than a decade combing the hills and valleys around Haifa for diamonds, something no one ever expected to find in Israel. "It's a mission," CEO Avi...

Israeli Mag Sexes Up Orthodox-Women Clash

BelleMode makes conflict hot

(Newser) - Get ready for the fireworks. An Israeli fashion magazine is adding steamy scenes to the ongoing clashes between women in Israel and ultra-Orthodox Jews who have been harassing them to dress more modestly and move to the back of buses in Israel. In the BelleMode spread, ultra-hot young male models...

Israeli Women Refuse to Move to the Back of the Bus

Women defiant as ultra-Orthodox men try to impose religious views

(Newser) - Calling Rosa Parks. Israeli women are refusing to move to the back of the bus despite pressure from Orthodox Jews who believe in the segregation of the sexes. An 18-year-old female soldier recently boarded a Jerusalem bus and was ordered by an ultra-Orthodox man to the back. "I said...

Israelis Erupt After Orthodox Extremists Harass Girl, 8

Extremists demanding sex segregation, more 'modest' clothes for schoolgirls

(Newser) - Thousands of Israelis poured into the streets yesterday to protest calls by Orthodox Jewish extremists for gender segregation. Fury erupted after a group of Orthodox Jews harassed young girls on their way to school for not dressing "modestly." Stop Israel "from becoming Iran," said signs held...

NYC Bus Makes Women Ride in Back
NYC Bus Makes Women
Ride in Back

NYC Bus Makes Women Ride in Back

But a New York World inquiry might change things

(Newser) - Women of Brooklyn, welcome to 2011. Unless, of course, you happen to hop on the B110 bus and have to sit in the back behind the men. The New York World explains: The B110 is a city bus and open to the public, but, in an unusual arrangement, it is...

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