By Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Tonight begins the festival of Chanukah. It is a time when we celebrate truth about who we are and where we come from. The events which Chanukah commemorate took place more than 2,000 years ago, when the Greek Empire invaded the Land of Israel and conquered Jerusalem. […]
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International, Jewish Religion
CHURACHANDPUR, India (Press Release)– Thousands of members of the Bnei Menashe community from across northeastern India gathered today to light candles for the first night of Hanukkah. “The story of the Maccabees’ heroic determination to preserve their Jewish identity resonates strongly with the Bnei Menashe, who – against all odds and with tremendous effort –
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International, Jewish ReligionThe head of one of the two rival groups of the staunchly anti-Zionist Satmar Hassidic movement ripped into President Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last week. Satmar, known as one of the most dogmatically anti-Zionist Hassidic sects, refuses to recognize the State of Israel and calls on members living in Israel not to
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Jewish Religion, Middle EastThe Ministerial Legislative Committee approved a government proposal sponsored by Labor and Social Services Minister Haim Katz (Likud) which would allow the minister to define and limit the conditions under which government employees or employees of state-owned entities may be employed on the Sabbath. Under the proposal, the Labor and Social Services Minister would be
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Jewish Religion, Middle EastGil Troy The Union for Reform Judaism is holding its Biennial in Boston this week. I know nothing about their governance procedures, but hope they pass — by acclamation — a resolution supporting President Donald Trump’s move recognizing “Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.” The resolution should affirm: Such a resolution, even if accompanied by
Is Reform Judaism forgetting its Zionism? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, USARachel Sharansky Danziger I was 4-years-old, and I struggled to spin my dreidel just so. I was 8-years-old, and my newest dreidel cast blue and green lights across the room. I was 10-years-old, and my sister and I spun dreidels as fast as we could. Who would get more of them to spin before the
The shin on my dreidel Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, USAA Reflection by David Gregory From American Jewish World Service Every winter, as the days shorten and darken, I look forward to Chanukah. The sight of the candles over eight nights helps us create those sacred moments that daily life so often crowds out. The flicker of the flame evokes history, identity, shared experience. I
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Jewish Religion, USAParents and residents are fuming after a Jerusalem community center announced that their annual Hanukka party will include a celebration for Mohammed and Santa Claus. Jerusalem’s French Hill community center traditionally holds a Hanukkah party for the community. However, residents were shocked to discover that this years party will include a celebration of Mohammed’s birthday
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Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Arkady Mamaysky TARRYTOWN, New York — The following is an attempt to present just a few of the many reasons that contribute to a decline in numbers of the US Jewish population. Is being Jewish a religion or ethnicity? For many this is a confusing question, but it shouldn’t be. Jewish people are an
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Arkady Mamaysky, International, Jewish Religion, USAArriving in New York for a series of meetings in the US, Labor party leader Avi Gabbay attacked Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The Zionist Union is a joint list made up of Labor, MK Tzipi Livni’s defunct Hatnuah party, and the Green Movement. “Israel’s crisis with US Jewry is mostly the result of a
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Jewish Religion, Middle East, USAA Jewish skullcap that retailers are calling the world’s most expensive kippah has gone on sale for $167,000. It is capped with a two carat Russian diamond enclosed within a Star of David encrusted with more than 3,500 crystals and has been created in time for Hanukkah, known as the Jewish festival of lights, which
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Jewish Religion, Travel and FoodArchaeologists are finally uncovering the purpose of a massive cellar in Marseille, France, more than 20 years after its discovery. Following two weeks of intensive analysis, the local research team from the National Institute for Preventative Archeological Studies told a French news channel it’s likely a mikve, a ritual Jewish bath. “Every time I went
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International, Jewish History, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — According to an opinion poll just published in Yediot Achronot, Israel’s largest newspaper, more Israelis define themselves as Reform (7%) and Conservative (4%) when put together than the ultra-Orthodox haredim (10%). The largest number of religious Jews are Nationalist-Orthodox (29%). 44% of all Israelis don’t identify with any religious
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Jewish Religion, Middle East[youtube:2035417] Israel”s Chief Sephardic Rabbi visited Jewish communities in California during a recent trip to the west coast, a spokesperson for the rabbi reported Sunday. Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef met with members of local Jewish communities across Southern California, and lectured at the Yeshiva Gedolah of Los Angeles (YGLA). Rabbi Yosef was hosted by the
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Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA