Tag Archive for religion

| September 21, 2015
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Millennium old Yom Kippur prayer book fragment from Cairo to be posted online

 

The Cairo Geniza, discovered in a synagogue in Cairo’s Old City, is a unique 1000 yr-old document and comes from the oldest Yom Kippur prayer book in Israel’s National Library collection.

By Yori Yalon

 

A unique fragment of a Yom Kippur prayer book from the Cairo Geniza, one of the most important resources for understanding Jewish culture, religion, economics and literature from the Middle Ages to the present, is slated to be uploaded to the website of the National Library of Israel.

The 1,000-year-old document was discovered in a synagogue in Postat, the Old City of Cairo, alongside holy works, correspondence, and legal and business documents.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| August 16, 2015
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Israel’s Challenge With Jewish Identity

Religious Zionists in Israel recognize the importance of dealing with its Jewish identity, since about 4,000 babies are born into families each year that identify themselves as Jewish, but are not acknowledged as such under Israel’s religious law.

By Prof. Asher Cohen

 

Sometime over the last decade, while I was conducting research on immigrants to Israel who are not considered Jewish according to religious law, I received an invitation to a circumcision ceremony. It was a standard invitation, the kind that is pre-made by the event hall, with blank spaces that are filled in with personal details. At the top right corner was the Hebrew acronym for “With God’s help,” which commonly appears on religious documents. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| December 10, 2014
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Jerusalem District Court has ruled against gender segregation at funerals

The Jerusalem District Court has ruled that unless deceased’s family specifically requests segregation, Chevra Kadisha burial society can no longer place signs separating between men & women at cemeteries.

By Kobi Nachshoni

 

The Chevra Kadisha burial society will not be able to place signs separating between men and women in cemeteries, unless the deceased’s family specifically asks for it, the Jerusalem District Court has ruled.

Sign reads, ‘Men to the right, women to the left’ (archives)

The outline suggested by the court has been accepted by both Chevra Kadisha and groups opposing gender segregation. The parties are now waiting for Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to confirm that the proposal does not fall under the category of forbidden exclusion of women in the public domain. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , , ,
| July 9, 2014
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Hidden Deal with Pope May Prevent Jews From Praying at David’s Tomb

Exclusive: Knesset Interior Committee meeting exposes secret arrangement with Christians that ‘soon no Jews at David’s Tomb.’

By Benny Toker, Ari Yashar

 

In a Knesset Interior Committee meeting on Monday chaired by MK Miri Regev (Likud), it was revealed that Christians received permission to hold fixed prayers in the David’s Tomb Compound, in a breach of the status quo that threatens Jewish prayer rights.

Rabbi Simcha Hacohen Kook, chief rabbi of Rehovot and rabbi of the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem’s Old City, took part in the Committee meeting and told Arutz Sheva about the serious implications of what was revealed. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| April 9, 2014
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Finance Minister: Settlement freeze preferable to release of imprisoned murderers

Israel’s Finance Minister Lapid calls for ending the Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly over Jewish marriage & conversion, and for an end to all forms of religious coercion.

 

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid said he supports freezing settlement growth to help jump-start peace negotiations and vowed that his centrist Yesh Atid party would leave Israel’s governing coalition if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were responsible for the collapse of the peace process.

Yair Lapid (Elad Gutman)

Yair Lapid says he would leave the coalition if the Israeli government did not “exhaust all options” in its peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| November 6, 2013
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Clerics unite to stop attacks at religious sites in Jerusalem

 

Lately there’s been an increase in vandalism & politically motivated attacks on places holy to  Christians, Muslims & Jews.

Clerics & others involved in religious dialogue in Israel want to cooperate to try to stop all attacks on holy places.

By LINDA GRADSTEIN/THE MEDIA LINE

 

 

In less than one square mile in Jerusalem’s old city are holy places central to the world’s three monotheistic religions. The Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, is just below the Aksa Mosque, venerated in Islam. Nearby is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christians believe Jesus was buried.

Palestinian protesters react during clashes on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's old city. - Photo REUTERS

Palestinian protesters react during clashes on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s old city.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| October 23, 2013
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State comptroller: Jewish Marriage Protocols a Disaster

 

Israel’s State comptroller finds a hornet’s nest of irregularities in the marriage process for Jewish citizens, with rabbis double-charging, religious councils overcharging couples,  bookkeeping & receipts lacking, and almost no objective oversight.

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

The marriage registration process is all tied up in knots, characterized by missing records, financial irregularities and lack of enforcement of laws and regulations, the state comptroller’s annual report has found.

Groom ready to break wineglass in Jewish ceremony – Photo: Yehoshua Yosef

The Knesset State Control Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning to discuss the sorry state of marriage registration in Israel.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| May 16, 2013
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UN Chief warns Netanyahu over ‘int’l law violations’ in East Jerusalem

Of all the countries in the Mid East to address this problem, UN’s chief Ban, in a phone call to PM Netanyahu, urges Israel to abide by its obligations under ‘int’l humanitarian law’ to allow free expression of religion.

By MICHAEL WILNER, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT

 

NEW YORK — On a phone call during the past two days, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of possible violations of “international humanitarian law” in East Jerusalem.

East Jerusalem.

East Jerusalem – Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Ban’s primary concerns expressed during the call seem to have been the resumption of peace talks and the denial of access to worshipers of various faiths to Jerusalem’s holy sites.

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Category: Jewish News | Tags: , ,
| November 2, 2012
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Jerusalem Mayor Barkat: Let My People Pray!

Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat calls for end of Jewish discrimination, Jews should be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount.

By Maayana Miskin

 

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has come out against the ongoing discrimination against Jews on the Temple Mount. Jews are prohibited to pray on the Mount, which is the holiest place in the world according to Judaism, and many have even been arrested for moving their lips at the site.

The matter is ultimately in the government’s hands, Barkat said, and not in the hands of Jerusalem leaders. His own opinion is “to let every person pray on the Temple Mount,” he said. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| September 19, 2012
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Israeli Arab Knesset Members sues Google to block anti-Muslim video in Israel

Arab-Israeli religious leaders & mayors demand Google ban access of the anti-Islam video in Israel, saying it violates at least 3 Israeli laws; video has already been blocked in Libya, Egypt and Indonesia.

 

MK Taleb a-Sanaa and various Arab-Israeli mayors and religious leaders on Wednesday filed a petition with the Jerusalem District Court demanding that Google take down an anti-Islam video ridiculing the Muslim Prophet Mohamed from YouTube, to prevent future publicizing of the film and to block all access to the film in Israel.

Screenshot from 'Innocence of Muslims'

Screenshot from ‘Innocence of Muslims’ – Photo: YouTube Screenshot

The petitioners characterized the film as abusive and violating the image of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad in a racist manner, while trampling his sanctity and desecrating his name.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,