Orthodox Judaism is not known for being particularly progressive—women and men are typically not allowed to sit next to one another if they aren’t married; women abide by strict dress codes; women haven’t been allowed to hold the highest title of rabbi in congregations. In fact, they still aren’t, but Rabbi Lila…
When I was a young Jewess, the world was a place that was still unkind to my people. Jews were allowed to be comedians, doctors, financial advisors, deli owners... But house DJs? Haha, forget about it.
The London Evening Standard and the Jewish Chronicle are reporting that an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group in North London has banned women from driving their children to school. A group of teachers and rabbis reportedly sent out a letter saying women driving goes against “the traditional rules of modesty in our camp.”…
In what’s quickly becoming an unwelcome mini-trend, the New York Times reports that a growing number of U.S.-Israel flights are being delayed by ultra-Orthodox Jewish men who refuse to sit next to women. They always seem to demand that the women switch seats, while they stay put. Wonder why that might be.
Macklemore's love affair with easily placated progressives may have hit a rough patch over the weekend when the musician showed up at a Seattle concert dressed as what many perceive to be an offensive Jewish caricature, hook nose and all.
Israel's army is a subject of fascination to many Americans, primarily because they draft not only male civilians, but women as well. There's a group of Israelis though who, until recently, were actually exempt from conscription: ultra-Orthodox men and women. And it's their lack of inclusion in the draft, similar to…
Some people get their rocks off obsessing about the Royal Wedding, which definitely ranks as one of the most elaborate (and popular) celebrations of Christianity still remaining. For those of the Jewish faith who felt left out of that display, here's equally insane alternative: the wedding of Rabbi Shalom Rokeach, the…
An Israeli court ruled today that women can legally pray and wear prayer shawls at Jerusalem's Western Wall, despite the best efforts of Orthodox Jews who want the holy site to remain a boy's club until the Red Sea parts once more, and probably even after that.
Because of his awesome judgment and giant brain, Oklahoma State Representative Dennis Johnson broke out the phrase "Jew me down on a price" during a floor debate about the challenges facing small businesses. After someone slipped him a note pointing out that it's 20-fucking-13 and the last year in which it was…
Five women who were recently detained at the Western Wall in Jerusalem for daring to pray alongside men at Israel's holiest site will not be penalized for "disturbing public order" by virtue of their gender. Progress!
Here's the gist of the controversy over Israel's holy Western Wall: lots of Jewish women think they deserve the right to pray aloud, read from the Torah, and wear religious garments there, just as men do, but the ultra-Orthodox caretakers of the site have made sure they're prohibited by law from doing just that.…
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has assigned famous former dissident Natan Sharansky an impossible task that The Daily Beast's Dan Ephron calls "almost cruel in its complexity." No, it's not brokering peace in the Middle East, but coming up with some sort of compromise between Jewish women who want to pray at…
Since the first arrest of this nature back in 2009, a number of women have been detained by Israeli security for attempting to pray at Jerusalem's Western Wall with tallitot, fringed prayer shawls that are traditionally reserved for men. While the Wall (called the Kotel by some) is considered one of the great…
As Katie Baker reported last week, folks looking for a Jewish partner are spoiled for choice, with more dating sites catering specifically to the Tribe than candles on a menorah. But that abundance stands in contrast to the paucity of writing celebrating Jewish sexuality itself. Filling the gap (as it were) is a new…
Rabbi Yaakov Rosenblatt, who is apparently not only a Rabbi but the definitive judge of good Jews, women, and pastrami sandwiches (he also manufactures kosher meat), is concerned about Sarah Silverman. He's mad, too — mad that her most recent political initiative, "Let My People Vote," employs biblical rhetoric — but,…
When I heard about Yenta, a new iPhone application that, Grindr-like, connects Jewish singles by location and cheeky questions like "How Jewish are you?" "What's your shtick?" and "What will impress your mother?", I wondered how many other Jewish online dating sites there were.
Super-duper Orthodox Jewish leaders in New York are bristling under the Health Department's plan to mandate a parental consent form before rabbis perform the ancient circumcision ritual called "metzitzah b'peh." So far, some 200 rabbis have objected to the city's mandate, and have signed a proclamation claiming that…
Feeling tempted by scantily-dressed women on the bus, or sexy billboards by the side of the road? If you're an ultra-Orthodox man in Israel, you're in luck: you can now buy special blinders to prevent sin-enticing images from sneaking into your peripheral vision. As the Times of Israel reported yesterday, an…
We can't really blame New York City's political reporters for obsessively covering Mindy Meyer's every glittery move — the 22-year-old is 1/3 Elle Woods (soo much pink), 1/3 Sarah Palin (Meyer didn't know who NY Governor Andrew Cuomo was and was surprised to hear that the state had legalized gay marriage), and 1/3…
When people find out that you grew up as an observant Jew, a game I like to call "20 Questions About Orthodox Jews" is inevitable. Here are a few couple of prime examples: "Is it true that you guys have sex through a hole in a sheet?" Or: "Why do married women shave their heads and wear wigs?" And once, they find out…
