Opinion: the Kotel is not an Orthodox synagogue
The Kotel is a national monument, not an Orthodox synagogue. If Jews want to gather there for prayer, so be it, but don’t impose the rules of one religious stream on them all.
Drawing inspiration from Jewish community in the Kootenays
At the end of Josephine Street in New Denver, B.C. (population: 504), there’s a house with a mezuzah on the door. Inside, there are more mezuzot, various menorahs and a picture of a kippah-clad man reading the Goldberg Haggadah.
Netanyahu and the Wall: he broke it, and must fix it
Many in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community, so blindly contemptuous of their unwanted Diaspora brethren, don’t know and don’t care how heavily they benefit from Diaspora support in many of its varied forms.
These 10 rabbis in Canada made Israel’s chief rabbinate’s ‘blacklist’
The blacklist, compiled by Israel’s ultra-Orthodox-dominated Chief Rabbinate, lists those rabbis it does not trust to confirm the Jewish identities of immigrants.
How Netanyahu defended suspending the Western Wall agreement
Far from killing the compromise, Netanyahu believes the vote has given it new life. And far from betraying Diaspora Jewry, he says the vote shows his concern for Jews around the world.
Is a new kind of Judaism in the making?
The Hartman-Oranim project seeks to adapt Judaism to the aspirations of the modern Israeli Jew, promoting Jewish learning without religious orientation
How Birthright was born against all odds
In an excerpt from his autobiography, Charles Bronfman recalls the genesis of an audacious plan to offer free trips to Israel for young Jews
Israel and the Diaspora must stand by each other
As long as the Israeli haredi determine matters of personal status and practice for Jews around the world, fewer Diaspora Jews will rally for Jews of Israel
Israeli MKs tour Toronto to strengthen ties to Diaspora
A group of Israeli members of Knesset from across the political spectrum were in Toronto this week as part of a seven-day North American tour that highlighted the importance of strengthening Israel’s relationship to Diaspora Jewry. Organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Agency for Israel, the five MKs, all of whom […]
The Diaspora is also responsible for Israel’s soul
The time has come for Jews in the Diaspora to share their experience and their vision with their fellow Jews in Israel, writes Rabbi Dow Marmur
