Tag Archive for Judaism

Palestinian Arab detained by PA police & beaten for converting to Judaism

Tricked by his brothers after being threatened to be cut off from his family, Mahmoud Abbas’ security forces apprehend & detain a 50 year-old Palestinian man for two weeks, beating him after learning he had converted to Judaism.

BY JERUSALEM POST STAFF

 

50-year old Palestinian resident of the West Bank was severely beaten by Palestinian Authority security forces after he converted to the Jewish faith , Ynet reported on Tuesday.

The man was arrested two weeks ago and kept in custody after he was asked by his sons to meet them somewhere in the West Bank.

Palestinian police loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday violently dispersed a demonstration against the Annapolis peace conference, killing one protester, medical officials said.

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American Conservative Rabbis Threaten Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu

About 600 American Rabbis and Jewish leaders threaten PM Netanyahu in a signed letter: ‘If you do not implement the Kotel Agreement, as promised, the tone about Israel during High Holy Days’ sermons will change for the worse.’

By Amihai Attali

 

Conservative leaders in the United States sent a scathing letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, in which they pressed him to unfreeze the Kotel egalitarian area plan, threatening to turn their represented community of 2 million Jews worldwide against him and Israel if he does not.

Senior members of the Conservative movement met with Israel’s Consul-General in New York, Dani Dayan, and handed him the threatening letter—signed by hundreds of leaders, rabbis, and presidents of Conservative Jewish communities from North America and around the world—to give to the prime minister personally. Continue Reading »

Jewish woman escapes Iraq before Muslim husband sold her to ISIS

 

Iraqi Jewish woman reunites with her family in Israel after previously-secular husband threatened to sell her to Islamic terror group if she doesn’t convert.

Arutz Sheva Staff,

 

Liza – Israel TV2 Screenshot

A Jewish woman was reunited this week with her family in the town of Patish in southern Israel after she fled northern Iraq, following threats by her husband to sell her into slavery with the ISIS terror organization.

According to a report by Channel 2, the woman, a member of the Avrahami family, was married to a previously secular Muslim man, who had recently embraced a radical form of Islam – and demanded she do the same. Continue Reading »

Turkish synagogue built in 1492 hosts first Jewish wedding in over 40 years

Built in 1492, the world’s 3rd-largest synagogue had tightened security for its 3,000 guests attending its first Jewish wedding, in 41 years.

By i24news

 

A historic synagogue in northwest Turkey was host to a Jewish wedding, its first in 41 years, on Sunday, the Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Edirne Synagogue, Turkey

The recently renovated synagogue in Edirne was built in 1492 for Jews seeking refuge in the Ottoman Empire and is the third-largest in the world.

The event prompted tight security, with surrounding roads being closed and searches of guests. The synagogue also has a metal detector installed at the entrance. Continue Reading »

300 El Salvadorian descendants of forced Spanish conversions return to Judaism

Some 300 El Salvadorian descendants of Spanish conversos observing Orthodox Judaism, dream of ‘Aliyah’, of living in Israel.

 

Hundreds of years after their forefathers fled Spain, some 300 descendants of Spanish conversos live in El Salvador as a thriving community, observing Orthodox Judaism, keeping the laws of the Sabbath, and dreaming of converting and immigrating to Israel as Jews.

Members of the El Salvadorian community pray in the synagogue in San Salvador – Photo: Shavei Israel

The community built a synagogue in the capital, San Salvador, and named it Beit Israel. Though the congregation is scattered across the city, a minyan (quorum) of worshippers gathers there three times each day for prayers, and on Friday, the eve of the Sabbath, they gather in the building that houses the synagogue and sleep in the main lobby so as to avoid desecrating the Sabbath. Continue Reading »

Disregarding regulations & protocol, Women of the Wall sneak miniature Torah into the Kotel

The religious feminist organization says this is 1st time in 25 years women have read from the Torah at the holy Jewish site.

Western Wall Rabbi condemns the group’s ‘deception.’

 

Defying regulations by Western Wall rabbinic authorities, members of Women of the Wall smuggled a tiny Torah scroll into the women’s section of the Kotel Friday morning, in what the feminist prayer group said was the first reading from the Torah by women at the holy site in 25 years.

Bat mitzvah girl Sasha Lutt reads from the Torah scroll smuggled into the Kotel.

Bat mitzvah girl Sasha Lutt reads from the tiny Torah scroll smuggled into the Western Wall, Fri.

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American Jews divided if right to bear arms is ‘Kosher’

Gun group & club affirm the`importance of armed self-defense,’ and the Rabbinical Council of America “condones” people learning to use weapons.

 

A Jewish gun-rights advocate and a gun club, affirming the right of law-abiding citizens to own weapons, have taken argument with the stances of two rabbinical groups, which they said called for greater gun control.

Itamar Gelbman helps Lea Rosenfeld take aim

A shooting class for Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in Los Angeles. – Photo: Anthony Weiss/JTA Photo Service

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership said it joined with the Golani Rifle & Pistol Club to oppose the rabbinical groups’ positions and “affirm the importance of armed self-defense by Jews and all Americans.”

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Tehran University professor/cleric: “Jews are sorcerers”

A Tehran University professor, on an Iranian state TV broadcast, discusses Judaism and the Jewish Sorcerers & Genies.

 

An Iranian cleric has accused Jews of being skilled sorcerers and said that Israel uses their power against Iran.

screenshot

YouTube Screenshot of Iranian cleric Valiollah Naghipourfar on state TV.

The Tehran University professor, who was recently interviewed on Iran’s state broadcaster, said that Jews use sorcery for espionage. Valiollah Naghipourfar talked about jinns, or genies, according to The Daily Beast.

“Can jinns be put to use in intelligence gathering?” the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting presenter asks the professor in the video, which was uploaded to YouTube on July 2.

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Catholic Church in Poland Unveils 18th Century Blood Libel Painting

On Thursday for the Catholic Church‘s Int’l Day of Judaism, a controversial picture was uncovered to expose realities of the church’s anti-Semitic past.

By Ari Yashar

 

The Catholic Church of Poland unveiled a painting on Thursday that had been kept hidden since 2006, after protests from both Catholics and Jews opposed the depiction of Jews murdering Christian children in the classic anti-Semitic blood libel trope.

The painting, an 18th century CE work by Italian painter Charles de Prevot called “Mord Rytualny (Ritual Murder),” has been mounted on a wall at the cathedral in Sandomierz but hidden behind a red curtain for the past 8 years due to its contents. Continue Reading »

Female IDF Soldiers Can Now Choose to Be Kashrut Inspectors

The new position opened up within the IDF for female soldiers, following a new Chief Rabbinate policy allowing women to serve as kashrut inspectors.

By Ari Yashar

 

The IDF has decided to let female soldiers serve as kashrut (Jewish dietary law) inspectors for the first time. Brigadier General Rachel Tevet Vizel, Advisor to the Chief of Staff on Women’s Issues, was behind the new move, although she notes female soldiers have yet to request the position.

Vizel told Kipa that regarding standards of religious public services, the IDF follows the policy of the state as established by the Chief Rabbinate and the Religious Services Ministry, and therefore women have not been allowed to serve as kashrut inspectors till now. Continue Reading »

Analysis: How Israel’s Chief Rabbis Lost Influence Over its Most Holy Site

Rabbis have banned all Jews from ascending the Temple Mount, reasoning that the pre-entry requirement of purification rituals, such as bathing, are not accessible today & also that one could accidentally step on the inner sanctuary of the temple — where it’s absolutely forbidden to tread — as its exact location is still unknown.

By Nathan Jeffay

 

Israel’s chief rabbis have issued a declaration reminding the public of the religious ban against visiting the holiest site in Judaism, Temple Mount.

Israeli police clash with Palestinian stone-throwers on Temple Mount

Israeli police advance to arrest Palestinian stone-throwers on Temple Mount – Photo source: The JC.com

The new chief rabbis, who took office five months ago, have stated that they adhere to the traditional position, which has dominated Israeli Orthodoxy since Israel captured Temple Mount in 1967. Continue Reading »

Israel extends arm to save American Jewish community

 

 

Representatives of the 2 largest Jewish populations met in Jerusalem last month to discuss how to maintain the American Jewish community despite political & religious disagreements.

Associated Press

 

More than 100 Israeli leaders gathered with Jewish-American counterparts in Jerusalem last month with a daunting mission: to save Jewish life in North America.

Los Angeles Jews celebrate Thanksgivukkah (Photo: AP)

Los Angeles Jews celebrate Thanksgivukkah – Photo: AP

Jewish American leaders have known for years that assimilation and intermarriage were slowly shrinking their communities, but the early November gathering took on an extra sense of urgency. Just weeks earlier, a landmark study had found that young American Jews are growing increasingly estranged from Judaism. Continue Reading »

New luxury hotel built on 15th century Spanish synagogue opens new shul

The 600 yr-old synagogue was unearthed during the construction of a new 5-star hotel, which was opened last year.

The Hotel will also house a cultural center offering an overview of Jewish history in Spain.

By

 

 

A Spanish hotel built on the remains of a 15th century synagogue opened a new synagogue on its seventh floor last week.

Synagogue in Spain, illustration

The western wall of the Synagogue of Córdoba, Spain. – Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Commons

The opening at the four-star Parador de Lorca hotel in Lorca, a city in the southeastern region of Murcia, was the result of negotiations between management and the Sefarad Beitenu Jewish association, which will run the shul, according to a report in the Murcia Economia newspaper. Continue Reading »

The Wackos in Washington

 

In regard to the Mideast, bad ideas never die, no matter how impractical, improbable or implausible.

 

 

Enough is enough. At some stage there must be a limit to the verbal garbage – I resist the strong temptation to employ a somewhat coarser epithet – that one can be subjected to before giving vent to pent-up exasperation and outrage.
US Secretary of State John Kerry addresses the Saban Forum in Washington, December 7, 2013. Photo: Ralph Alswang/Courtesy Saban Forum

US Secretary of State John Kerry addresses the Saban Forum in Washington, December 7, 2013. Photo: Ralph Alswang/Courtesy Saban Forum

A spade is still a spade.

Of late, this limit has been breached with increasing frequency – particularly when the matter of the “Palestinian issue” is broached.As
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Israel to Fund Reform and Conservative Rabbis in Groundbreaking Decision

New ruling represents a milestone victory for the Reform & Conservative movements, both which long have chafed at their second-class treatment by previous Israeli gov’ts.

By JTA Staff

 

 

Israel’s Ministry of Religious Services will, for the first time, allow non-Orthodox rabbis to serve in communal positions with state-funded salaries.

non-Orthodox Jewish Brit - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

non-Orthodox Jewish Brit – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

The announcement on Thursday of the intention to change current policy follows a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court filed in January by the Reform and Conservative movements arguing that it was discriminatory for the state to employ only Orthodox rabbis in state-funded positions.

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