Jews – News – Times Topics – The New York Times

Posted By on October 31, 2015

Confluence of Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, beginning of Muslim feast of sacrifice Eid al-Adha and visit by Pope Francis showcases religious side of New York City. MORE

Kehilath Jeshurun, synagogue on Manhattan's Upper East Side nearly destroyed by fire in 2011, reopens in time for Rosh Hashana; extensively reconstructed building, which is home to one of most wealthy and influential congregations in Manhattan, features new floors, classroom and chapel. MORE

New York City Board of Health repeals rule requiring parental consent forms for controversial circumcision ritual practiced by ultra-Orthodox Jews; risk of herpes transmission through ritual remains, but some board members who were previously in favor of forms have changed position due to city's strained relationship with Orthodox community. MORE

Jury recommends death penalty for Frazier Glenn Miller Jr, for 2014 murder of three people at Overland Park Jewish sites; judge will have the final say, but capital punishment has not been carried out in Kansas for decades. MORE

Spanish reggae festival Rototom Sunsplash reverses its decision to bar American Jewish musician Matisyahu from performing and issues apology; had blocked Matisyahu after he refused to detail his views on Palestinian statehood, prompting condemnations from Spanish government and Jewish organizations. MORE

Op-Ed article by Prof Oliver Sacks describes how his thoughts seem to stray to idea of Sabbath as he nears end of his life; notes he gave up on religious life around time when he confessed his homosexuality to his parents, but that idea of Sabbath, a time outside of time, has always held particular value for him. MORE

Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance confirms that it has granted Jewish Daily Forward, prominent newspaper among American Jews, 30-day visa; unusual step seems geared toward influencing American public opinion on nuclear deal. MORE

New York City Education Dept announces intention to examine whether 39 yeshivas in Brooklyn and Queens are providing appropriate level of education in secular subjects; investigation was prompted by letter from parents and former students and teachers, organized by Young Advocates for Fair Education, that brought up their concerns with education offered. MORE

David Azoulay, Israel's strictly Orthodox minister of religious services, says he does not consider Reform Jews to be Jewish; comment inflames tensions between Israel's Orthodox Jewish political body and American Jews, who fall mostly among more liberal Conservative and Reform Jewish strains. MORE

Israeli cabinet rejects liberal- and centrist-backed proposal to ease process of converting to Judaism, requirement of filing for citizenship; vote signals growing strength of ultra-Orthodox parties and leaves conversion under control of Chief Rabbinate. MORE

Eve M Kahn Antiques column; American Sephardi Federation at Center for Jewish History receives papers, drawings and personal letters documenting early career of retired engineer Sabi Asseo, Turkish native who immigrated to California in 1957; documents, dating back to 1950s and 1960s, offer glimpses into lives of Turkish-Jewish immigrants. MORE

Egyptian television series The Jewish Quarter has shocked many in country with its sympathetic portrayal of Egyptian Jews and its depiction of their strong anti-Zionism; show follows Jewish family living in Cairo in 1948. MORE

Spain's Parliament passes law that offers citizenship to thousands of Sephardic Jews whose ancestors were expelled in 1492; measure takes effect October 2015. MORE

Lawyer for Jonathan Rosenblatt, rabbi of Bronx synagogue Riverdale Jewish Center who has attracted attention for having taken boys and young men to a sauna naked, says he is discussing buyout and expects arrangement for Rosenblatt to step down soon. MORE

Eve M Kahn Antiques column; book The Archive Thief: The Man Who Salvaged French Jewish History in the Wake of the Holocaust by Lisa Moses Leff, analyzes what motivated Zosa Szajkowski to obsessively collect Nazi-government paperwork that became valuable trove of archival material for those studying Judaica. MORE

New York City's Board of Health votes to consider waving new rule that would require Orthodox Jewish parents to sign consent form before allowing circumcision ritual that can expose infants to herpes; plan had enraged Orthodox leaders; Mayor Bill de Blasio has urged more cooperative plan that would involve distributing brochures to educate parents on potential risks. MORE

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, having replaced some Board of Health members who were appointed by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and filled vacant board positions with allies, prepares to present plan to ease restrictions on controversial circumcision ritual practiced by ultra-Orthodox rabbis. MORE

Bronx prosecutors are asking potential victims to come forward with information about Jonathan Rosenblatt, prominent rabbi of Riverdale Jewish Center who is said to have behaved inappropriately with young boys during long sauna chats in which they were fully naked; statute of limitations may long have past for all but most serious crimes, but district attorney's office still seeks to offer counseling and other services. MORE

Op-Ed article by Merryl H Tisch, New York State Board of Regents chancellor and David G Sciarra, Education Law Center executive director, holds board of education in East Ramapo, NY, has grossly mismanaged district's finances and educational programs; notes board, dominated by members of Orthodox Jewish community, has brutally cut staffing and programs at expense of African-American and Latino public school students while diverting money to largely Orthodox private schools; calls on legislators to approve plan that would appoint fiscal monitor. MORE

Michael Frank Cultured Traveler column on finding traces of once thriving Jewish communities in Fez, Casablanca, and Marrakesh, Morocco. MORE

Thousands of Sephardic Jews in Turkey who are of Spanish descent are applying for Spanish citizenship ahead of law granting nationality to Jews who were expelled during Inquisition in 1492; most are trying to flee what they view as rising anti-Semitism in Turkey. MORE

Bid to impose monitor on East Ramapo School District in Rockland County meets resistance in New York Legislature; New York State Education Dept had concluded that East Ramapo school board show favoritism to Orthodox Jewish students, drawing money from public schools to students in local yeshivas. MORE

Famed psychosexual therapist Dr Ruth Westheimer is honored by the New York City Council as part of Jewish Heritage Month. MORE

Brooklyn's dwindling population of Jewish veterans of Russian Red Army celebrates 70th anniversary of Allied victory over Nazi forces in World War II; tribute highlights role of soldiers whose importance has commonly been dwarfed by that of British and American forces. MORE

Samuel G Freedman On Religion column explores Jewish ritual of counting the omer, observance associated with pursuit of spiritual mindfulness by practicing introspection and study of religious texts. MORE

Exhibition 'Yiddish Fight Club' is opening at Yivo Institute of Jewish Research at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan; features professional fighters through 20th century who garnered large Jewish audience. MORE

Rachelle David, student at North Shore Hebrew Academy High School in Great Neck, NY, will become first Orthodox yeshiva student, male or female, ever to attend West Point; values personal discipline, physical fitness and leadership and hopes to one day be Army general. MORE

The Appraisal column; New York State attorney general's office is reviewing allegations that $13 million sale of synagogue-owned nursing home Home of the Sages in Lower East Side to apartment developer will largely benefit its president, Samuel Aschkenazi, and further diminish Jewish identity of the neighborhood. MORE

Neighborhood Joint column; Sarah Chanie Benarroch-Brafman operates Space yoga studio and Gymies Gym out of brownstone in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood; endeavors cater to women and children of Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic community. MORE

Mark Oppenheimer Beliefs column examines increasingly common phenomenon of married couples, both pastors, sharing ministry duties within a single congregation; observes that in branches of many Christian religions, and in most streams of Judaism, women make up increasing number of seminarians, leading to increasing numbers of both heterosexual and homosexual pastor couples. MORE

Conflicts are increasing between ultra-Orthodox Jewish men refusing to sit next to female airline passengers, sometimes delaying or disrupting flights; men are trying to follow their faith by avoiding all contact with women who are not their wives; situation always existed but stories of such skirmishes seem to be on the rise because ultra-Orthodox communities are growing due to high birth rates. MORE

David Brooks Op-Ed column submits story of Exodus, read by Jews as part of Passover Seder, offers means of overcoming fear; holds storytelling presents way of naming and understanding fear, and of moving past it; says instead of urging blunt confrontation of fear, Exodus narrative takes more sophisticated approach of dealing with it through love, storytelling and song. MORE

New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust plans to announce partnership with National Yiddish Theater-Folksbiene; leaders hope Folksbiene will help shore up flagging attendance at the museum, and say partnership could emerge as full merger by 2017. MORE

Argentine court dismisses case against Pres Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her supporters that accused them of conspiring to cover up Iran's involvement in 1994 bombing of Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. MORE

Grief, shock and sense of urgency affect large Orthodox Jewish community of Midwood, Brooklyn, in wake of fire that killed seven children after family's hot plate was left on overnight; safety of Sabbath ritual is re-examined and many smoke detectors are sold. MORE

New York City officials warn about dangers of leaving hot plates or stove burners on overnight to warm food, common practice among Orthodox Jews to avoid violating prohibition of work on the Sabbath; malfunctioning hot plate was responsible for blaze that killed seven Orthodox children in Midwood, Brooklyn. MORE

Fire that killed seven siblings in Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Midwood, Brooklyn, has raised concerns over common practice of leaving meal warming overnight on hotplate ahead of Sabbath as means of skirting day's restrictions on work; fire was begun by malfunctioning hotplate. MORE

New-York Historical Society exhibition Lincoln and the Jews features letters, photographs and other artifacts that document Pres Abraham Lincoln's interactions with growing religious minority. MORE

Denise L Eger will be installed as first openly gay president of Central Conference of American Rabbis, which is the rabbinical arm of Reform Judaism. MORE

Dating app called JSwipe is exclusively for Jewish singles looking for romance and is as proficient as Tinder. MORE

Lisa Schwarzbaum travel article on Danube River cruise that highlights Jewish heritage at it travels from Budapest to city of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. MORE

Rachel Beyda, student at University of California, Los Angeles, endures pointed questions about her Jewish identity during confirmation hearing on her nomination to student council's Judicial Board; debate centers on Beyda's affiliation with Jewish organizations and how it might subject her to bias; Jewish leaders say discussion echoes anti-Semitic tropes that have plagued Jews for centuries. MORE

French authorities report they have identified all three suspects that carried out 1982 attack on Jewish deli in Marais district of Paris, killing six people, including two Americans, and wounding 22 others; identifications of suspects, associates of Palestinian radical Abu Nidal, have been made in large part due to tireless efforts of investigating judge Marc Trevidic. MORE

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has undertaken unofficial campaign to more closely ally himself with city's Jewish voters and to become a sort of international spokesman for Jewish concerns; has taken strong stand against rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, loosened regulations on ultra-Orthdox circumcision ritual and made plans to undertake his first state visit to Israel. MORE

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