Hundreds of demonstrators protested on Sunday outside an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Teaneck, N.J., where 35 Israeli real estate companies were promoting their properties to potential American buyers. The demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and signs denouncing Israel. Some brought prayer rugs and paused their chants to pray. Cars honked in support, or drivers and passengers […]
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Gaza War Is Shifting Ties Between Secular and Ultra-Orthodox Israelis
In a neighborhood of Jerusalem, ultra-Orthodox Jewish residents cheered a soldier returning from military service. At a religious seminary, similarly devout students gathered to hear an officer talk about his military duties. And at a synagogue attended by some of the most observant Jews in the country, members devoted a Torah scroll in memory of […]
Read MoreThey Thought They Knew Death, but That Didn’t Prepare Them for Oct. 7
At 76, David Weissenstern has collected the remains of the dead for most of his adult life. But after the Oct. 7 attacks, in which Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people along Israel’s border with Gaza, he can no longer stand the smell of grilled meat. The odor, he says, reminds him too much of […]
Read MoreLeaving the Modern Orthodox Faith Did and Did Not Change My World
But I felt I was missing out. The modest dress code at my all-girls religious school required long skirts. What would it be like to wear jeans? To date an actual boy? Despite my exposure to pop culture, I was sheltered. I had a monster crush on the singer Ricky Nelson, who I did not […]
Read MoreAs World’s Gaze Shifts to Gaza, Israel’s Psyche Remains Defined by Oct. 7 Attack
The Oct. 7 attack on Israel has prompted soul-searching on the Israeli left, undermining faith in a shared future with Palestinians. It has created a crisis of confidence on the Israeli right, sapping support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It has drawn ultra-Orthodox Jews, often ambivalent about their relationship to the Israeli state, closer to […]
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