Ultra Orthodox Jews

When Rabbis Muzzle Sex Crime Victims, What's a Prosecutor to Do?

Bennett L. Gershman | Posted 05.24.2012

Bennett L. Gershman

What exactly should a prosecutor do when religious leaders pressure victims, especially victims of child sexual abuse, from coming forward with complaints?

Leading Ultra-Orthodox Group Insists Abuse Claims Go To Rabbis First

Posted 05.23.2012

By Paul Berger The Forward An Orthodox parent whose child tells him he’s been sexually abused may not take that child’s claim to the police wi...

What the Sold-Out Ultra-Orthodox Anti-Internet Rally Was About

Alex Pasternack | Posted 05.22.2012

Alex Pasternack

Not just a fear of pornography, but a concern about presentation and perception -- the creeping suspicion that information could not be controlled, that the Internet was importing, copying and pasting, all sorts of things that the community had spent so many decades trying to keep at bay.

Taking Back Our Souls: A Reaction To Sexual Abuse

Chava Tombosky | Posted 05.22.2012

Chava Tombosky

As G-d stands watching our reaction, we are forced to create an initiative that I dare say, can take on a new day if we are willing and open. As a first step in destroying the silence, I invite you all to belong to a new community and a new higher consciousness.

SOLD OUT: Ultra-Orthodox Jews To Hold Huge Rally Against The Internet

Posted 05.18.2012

Its the hottest ticket in town. Originally available for $10, tickets to the ultra-Orthodox "anti-Internet" rally on May 20 at the 40,000-seat Citi Fi...

For Jewish Orthodox Children: No Justice -- No Peace

Rabbi Asher Lipner, Ph.D. | Posted 05.17.2012

Rabbi Asher Lipner, Ph.D.

Jewish children will only be safe when Jewish and non-Jewish people of good conscience work together to demand that the rabbis stop covering up abuse, and that the prosecutors use all their resources and authority to bring the abusers to justice.

Victims Protest: Rabbis, Protect Our Children

Leah Vincent | Posted 05.07.2012

Leah Vincent

When I heard that thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews were gathering together to address a pressing issue in the religious community, I was furious that the issue being addressed at the unusually elaborate meeting was the dangers of the Internet.

The Internet Is Banned; Long Live The Internet

Howard Meyer | Posted 05.01.2012

Howard Meyer

On May 20 at Citi Field, thousands of people are expected to gather for an underdog cause. It's not the Mets. Rabbis, community leaders and ordinary citizens will gather to discuss the dangers of the Internet.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews To Hold Rally Against The Internet

The Huffington Post | Courteney Palis | Posted 05.01.2012

A mass rally against the Internet and technology held by a group of Haredim, or ultra-orthodox Jews, will take place in Queens, New York on May 20, re...

Exploiting the Memory of Child Holocaust Victims Is Obscene

Menachem Rosensaft | Posted 03.27.2012

Menachem Rosensaft

My brother and every other child murdered in any genocide deserve to be remembered as fragile flames extinguished in tsunamis of hatred, intolerance and bigotry. Exploiting their memory to score cheap political points is obscene.

Women's Rights Around The World: How Far Have We Really Come?

Nick Mills | Posted 03.19.2012

Nick Mills

In the ten long years of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, during which we hoped to sow the seeds of democratic governance and equal rights for women, what have we achieved?

Message To Religious Extremists: Listen To Joseph!

Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, Ph.D. | Posted 03.18.2012

Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, Ph.D.

In recent weeks, there have been reports of the escalating tensions in Israel between some in the ultra-Orthodox community and the general Israeli populace.

Ultra-Orthodox Judaism Need Not Be Obscurantist

Menachem Rosensaft | Posted 03.13.2012

Menachem Rosensaft

While one must not tar all ultra-Orthodox Jews with the brush of intolerance, the fact is that the antagonism displayed by haredim toward other Jews is becoming ever more extreme. It was not always thus.

Israeli Military Rabbi Quits Over Comments

Reuters | Posted 03.11.2012

JERUSALEM, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A top Israeli military rabbi resigned on Tuesday after making comments that appeared to condone allowing ultra-Orthodo...

Joshua Hersh

Jewish Extremists Prompt Culture War In Israel

HuffingtonPost.com | Joshua Hersh | Posted 01.09.2012

JERUSALEM -- If they hadn't been stirred already by the female soldier who was called a "slut" on a public bus, or the 8-year-old girl spit on by neig...

3 Ultra-Orthodox Arrested In Suspected Pedophilia Ring In Israel

AP | Posted 01.09.2012

JERUSALEM -- Israeli police say three men have been arrested in a suspected pedophilia ring thought to have preyed on dozens of Jerusalem children. P...

Violence To Preserve Judaism, Or Diversity Of Opinion?

Eliyahu Federman | Posted 03.04.2012

Eliyahu Federman

The Haredi communities turning to violence have forgotten the essential cornerstone that has kept Judaism relevant, vibrant and intellectually honest through the ages.

A Black Mark on the Israeli Society, One That We Must Erase

Shelly Yachimovich | Posted 03.04.2012

Shelly Yachimovich

Forbidden pavements for women. Sounds like a science fiction movie featuring an especially grim, hallucinatory reality. Yet this is a reality. And this kind of reality, in the State of Israel, in the 21st century, puts a black mark on the Israeli society.

Those Who Desecrate the Holocaust Have No Place in Society

Menachem Rosensaft | Posted 03.04.2012

Menachem Rosensaft

We have reached the point when politicians and media commentators eager for a sound bite on the evening news think nothing of exploiting the Holocaust and Nazi terminology, and apparently the crasser the better.

If You Could See Israel Naked

Bradley Burston | Posted 03.03.2012

Bradley Burston

If we could see the Jewish world naked, we might well see a new Judaism emerging this new year, stripped of xenophobia and 19th century clothes for 21st century issues. In the long run, it could save the Jewish people from extinction. If we're lucky, it could save Israel as well.

Ultra Orthodox And Secular Jews Clash Over Gender Segregation In Israel

Posted 12.28.2011

Ultra Orthodox Jews continue to push for segregation between men and women in the city of Beit-Shemesh, Israel, as secular residents fight back. "It ...

Israelis, Resentful Of Orthodox Grip On Society, Fight Back

Posted 12.07.2011

By Michele Chabin Religion News Service JERUSALEM (RNS) With its department-store-sized windows, the Kolben Dance Company's studio faces a busy do...

Top Israeli Rabbi: Segregated Buses Not Jewish Law

AP | AMY TEIBEL | Posted 02.04.2012

JERUSALEM — One of Israel's chief rabbis ventured into the divisive question of gender segregation on Monday, saying separate seating for men an...

EXCLUSIVE: Orthodox Rabbis To Sign Anti-Gay Declaration

Jayson Littman | Posted 01.28.2012

Jayson Littman

I was saddened to learn about a top-secret Declaration currently being passed confidentially among Orthodox Jewish rabbis, entitled, "Torah Declaration, Petition, re: The Torah Stance on Homosexuality." The full text of this Declaration is posted here.

Rise Of Ultra-Orthodox Jews Cause Fractures In Israeli Society

AP | MATTI FRIEDMAN | Posted 05.25.2011

JERUSALEM — Dramatic changes may be coming in Israel: Demographers now estimate about a third of last year's Jewish babies were born into the ul...