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What’s happening right now around secular studies in Israeli yeshivas is remarkable
(JTA) — The irony of history is that we can understand and assess the full meaning of current events only in retrospect. Only looking back can we know for certain whether an incident that seems historic really is a turning point, or whether it was really the quiet and hard-to-detect processes bubbling under the surface that were shaping the future.
Either way, in recent weeks it seems that something notable is happening in the Israeli haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, community when it comes to teaching math, English and science in schools almost exclusively devoted to religious instruction.
The realization is slowly sinking in that more and more ultra-Orthodox families want to send their sons to haredi Orthodox schools that teach core curriculum subjects and are under government supervision. In order to avoid losing control over these schools, the rabbis are considering offering them a “kosher” alternative — schools that teach core curriculum subjects but are under haredi supervision.
A few days ago, Israeli media reported on a meeting of prominent leaders of the pious “Lithuanian” haredi sector, known as “Yeshivish” in the United States. According to one account, the leaders, including two rabbis who are among the favorites in the race to be crowned the next “rabbinical giant of the generation,” met to discuss the “state ultra-Orthodox school system, with the objective of considering the challenges in education and the best way to proceed.” The teaching of secular subjects was clearly the context of their meeting.
This comes on top of last month’s report that the Belzer Hasidic movement, one of Israel’s largest, wants to revert to a plan, devised in the previous Knesset by legislator Moshe Tur–Paz, whereby their schools would receive full state funding contingent on their incorporation of core curriculum subjects under government supervision. (The sect had dropped the plan under pressure from Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, the last rabbinical giant, who died in May at 100.) Whether these reports are true or just a gun placed on the table by haredi members of the Knesset as part of budget negotiations, the mere threat would seem to indicate that the core curriculum is gaining increased legitimacy in ultra-Orthodox society.
The truly shocking news, however, came on a different front: higher education. David Leibel, a well known rabbi who is also a businessman and social entrepreneur with a long record of success, announced the opening of an advanced yeshiva (for students ages 16 through marriage) that would also teach academic subjects.
The announcement was preceded by a heavily promoted speech that garnered major coverage inside and outside the haredi sector. Currently, most haredi men continue to study Torah full-time and do not work for a living. The rabbi proclaimed, in short, that there is more than one way to be an ultra-Orthodox Jew. Devoting one’s life to Torah study is a stellar virtue, Leibel said, but acquiring a vocation and going out to earn a livelihood is equally legitimate.
The attacks were swift and brutal. The Orthodox weekly Yated Ne’eman declared it totally out of the question to discuss the idea and condemned Leibel as the spiritual murderer of the greatest rabbi of the next generation, who instead of devoting himself entirely to Torah will choose to focus on secular studies.
Despite the fierce public opposition to Leibel’s move, leaders associated with several ultra-Orthodox yeshiva high schools and others have just announced their intention to open a post-secondary institution that would allow its students to combine Torah studies with vocational programs and academic courses.
According to the manifesto they wrote, which has circulated within the community but not been formally published, the yeshiva will offer “studies in a range of disciplines and occupations offered both by universities and other quality institutions that pave the student’s way to professionalism and excellence toward a dignified life and honorable livelihood, while sharing and accepting responsibility both in the economy, society, and community, and in the State of Israel as a whole.”
Can the ultra-Orthodox in Israel really incorporate a secular education or is the haredi DNA dedicated solely to religious studies for boys?
In the American context, the opposition by Hasidic leaders to calls that they improve their secular studies would suggest the latter. An investigation by the New York City Department of Education recently found that 18 Hasidic schools do not uphold the requirements to teach secular subjects. (It also concluded that some yeshivas do meet the state’s standards.) Hasidic yeshivas in New York, and their political supporters, have so far resisted heavy pressure from activists and the media to teach secular subjects in a way that is “substantially equivalent” with non-Orthodox schools.
But the situation among the “Yeshivish,” non-Hasidic yeshivas in the United States is quite different. Their yeshivas, in places like the burgeoning Orthodox enclave of Lakewood, New Jersey, are teaching secular studies even in high schools, and most of their graduates are earning high school and often post-high school diplomas. This stems from parents’ desire to provide their children with the life skills required in modern society. In research we conducted on Haredi boys’ education in the United States, a principal of a Lithuanian institution told us that removing secular studies would lead 90% of parents to remove their sons from the yeshiva.
No wonder that more than 25% percent of the Yeshivish stream hold academic degrees, and the annual average earning of a Yeshivish household is 60% more than a Hasidic one.
The haredi experience in the United States shows that it is possible to combine religious and secular studies for high-school aged boys. Can this latter model be replicated in Israel?
Only time will tell whether the current changes in Israel are viable or whether they prove premature and wither away.
But if there is a lesson to be learned from all that’s happening, it is that change takes place only when alternatives are made available. If these and similar yeshivas gain momentum, the decision-makers will have no choice. Just as they are now considering the establishment of ultra-Orthodox schools that teach core curriculum subjects under rabbinic supervision, in the future we may see Israeli yeshivas that include secular studies as an integral part of the haredi world.
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The post What’s happening right now around secular studies in Israeli yeshivas is remarkable appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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‘Your Nazism Knows No Bounds’: Popular LA Restaurant Draws Backlash After Denying Service to Jewish Man
Protesters outside of Mauro’s Cafe in Los Angeles after a patron wearing a kippah said he was denied a cup of coffee. Photo: Screenshot
A popular restaurant in West Hollywood, California drew protests and widespread backlash online after it allegedly denied service to a Jewish man wearing a kippah.
Mauro Cafe is a small Italian restaurant and cafe in Los Angeles County often frequented by celebrities. On Sunday, a man wearing a kippah said he attempted to order a cup of coffee from the restaurant but was refused.
Video of the man walking into the restaurant before coming out and saying he was denied service because he looked Jewish went viral on social media this week.
West Hollywood cafe owner throws out Jewish customer and REFUSES to serve him after seeing he was wearing a kippah.
Mauro Cafe in Melrose refused to allow the man to buy coffee with one waitress telling him to “get off the property.”
@growthfactororg pic.twitter.com/BXDqPpSBYP
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 2, 2024
“The owner, she says I cannot buy a coffee,” the man said in the video after walking out. When asked why he was refused service, he responded, “Because I look like I am Jewish.”
Although the owner of the restaurant, who has been identified as Evelyne Joan, appeared to turn the patron away, employees of the restaurant later bought him a coffee, according to the video.
The incident sparked backlash among Los Angels’ Jewish community, prompting some to protest against antisemitism and discrimination more broadly outside of Mauro Cafe.
Jewish Americans protest outside a cafe in West Hollywood after the owner REFUSED to serve a Jewish customer and threw him out because he was wearing a Kippah.
The owner of Mauro Cafe stood outside as Jews protested against her antisemitic business chanting “Shame.”
@idan_bg pic.twitter.com/6P0ExiWcVE
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 2, 2024
“Your Nazism knows no bounds,” one protester yelled.
“The owner of Mauro Cafe, Evelyn [Joan], does not demonstrate for any of the atrocities committed within walking distance of Israel!” another demonstrator said, calling out Joan for only protesting against the Jewish state.
“Apologize!” the activists demanded.
Social media users quickly noted that Joan has a history of protesting against Israel and Jewish sites. The nonprofit organization Jew Hate Database revealed that she participated in the violent anti-Israel demonstration outside of Adas Torah synagogue in the heavily-Jewish Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles late last month.
In video posted to social media, Joan can be seen holding a microphone while preventing Jews from accessing the synagogue and shouting “Free Palestine” and “Shame on you!”
Demonstrators swarmed the synagogue to protest the sale of Israeli real estate taking place inside the building. The protests quickly descended into violence as anti-Israel protesters were caught on video shoving, punching, and screaming at those attempting to defend the synagogue.
The violence received widespread condemnation. US President Joe Biden slammed the protests as “antisemitic and un-American.”
Outside of Mauro Cafe, activists chastised Joan for her participation in the protest. “When it comes to Jews she runs and blocks their place of worship!” they said, referring to the anti-Israel demonstrators who waved Palestine flags and donned keffiyehs while blocking entry into the Adas Torah synagogue.
Prominent figures on social media decried the restaurant’s apparent anti-Jewish discrimination this past weekend. “Imagine if a white business didn’t serve a black customer. Lead story of every single news program. Mauro Cafe. Run by racist dirtbags,” tweeted conservative political commentator Dave Rubin.
The incident came almost three months after the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a report showing antisemitic incidents in the US rose 140 percent last year, reaching a record high. Most of the outrages occurred after Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities in southern Israel, during the ensuing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The post ‘Your Nazism Knows No Bounds’: Popular LA Restaurant Draws Backlash After Denying Service to Jewish Man first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jews Today Cannot Wait for Miracles
Pro-Hamas activists gather in Washington Square Park for a rally following a protest march held in response to an NYPD sweep of an anti-Israel encampment at New York University in Manhattan, May 3, 2024. Photo: Matthew Rodier/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
One of the amazing features of the Torah is the way that it conveys human nature with all its greatness and pettiness, triumphs and failures.
This week, we look at the Korach rebellion, in which there are three different groups of protesters each with their own agenda.
Korach and the other Levites were fighting for a religious position and power. On Ben Pelet’s group represented the tribe of Ruben’s political fear of being replaced by the tribe of Judah. And Datan and Aviram were only concerned with their own physical and material interests.
This serious rebellion against the established authority of Moses and Aaron reflects precisely the sorts of conflicts of opinion and commitment that divide the Jewish people to this very day — those who do not identify with the nation, those animated by religious power and authority, and those whose values are the same material values as the secular Western world. Of course, my comparison is fanciful. But I hope it makes a valid point.
The children of Israel faced a crisis of self-image coming out of slavery and subjugation in Egypt. Nevertheless, they escaped from Egypt, arrived at Sinai, and had the national revelation. But almost immediately, they fall back into an idolatrous mindset. And when it came to proceeding to the land of Canaan and not relying on everything to be provided for them, the facade of unity collapsed.
It was clear that the nation was simply not ready to take upon itself the burden of responsibility of running their own affairs within a land of their own. The result was that they were sent back into the wilderness for another generation to prepare themselves psychologically and physically for what would happen 40 years later.
When Moses was faced with this rebellion, his first reaction was to “fall on his face” both in resignation and in supplication to God. God’s response was to give him the confidence to stand up to them.
Moses tries first to reason with them. When this fails, the miracles of the earth opening up — the fire that consumed the Levites who brought the censors, and the staffs that flowered and produced almonds — finally ended the revolt and restored order.
In those days, miracles were visible — and solved the problem. But now both in the Diaspora and in Israel, we are faced as never before with our internal divisions and the increasing tsunami of hatred and denial of our rights (and lives) across the world.
The picture looks so bleak from almost every point of view, so it is not surprising that more and more of us are looking for miracles. And because we can see no rational and logical fair resolution, we turn to prayer.
Prayer is a wonderful tool both of self-validation and connecting with spiritual energy beyond the physical world. But it’s not a tool that can guarantee anything. Similarly, the dream of a Messiah may give us a sense of hope, but we have no guarantees. Besides as the Talmud says, “Ein Somchin Al HaNes” — we cannot and should not rely on miracles
It is up to us to be proactive in our lives ,and take the steps necessary for our self-defense and well-being.
Not everyone is suited or equipped to deal with every threat, whether it is physical, political, or cyber. But we must all be prepared to rise to the challenge and do whatever we can to play our part, no matter how small. We never know how things are going to work out, and we may be surprised by turns of events that we didn’t expect.
Yes, I hope for miracles — but I know one cannot rely on them.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
The post Jews Today Cannot Wait for Miracles first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Why Will The New Republic Not Take Action Against Inciteful New Hire?
A scene from the anti-Israel protest that took place outside the exhibit “Nova: Oct. 7 6:29 AM, The Moment Music Stood Still” in New York City on June 10, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
Some journalists report what they see and hear on the ground, while others report what they want to see or hear. It’s unfortunate when that happens, and it is especially prevalent in today’s media.
Talia Jane (or Talia Ben-Ora) belongs in the latter category.
Jane (who identifies with the pronouns they/them) is an associate writer for The New Republic; their work for the publication is labeled as “breaking news.”
Only much of this content is not necessarily breaking news, and it’s not written as such. With headlines that are sarcastic and distorted from the truth, Jane probably manages to grab eyes, but irresponsibly misleads readers.
Jane continuously steps out of bounds as a journalist, backing vile anti-Israel activity (and behavior towards Jews), and passing it off as valid resistance to the Israeli “occupation.”
Earlier in June, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch published an in-depth article on Jane — exposing that The New Republic’s latest hire is a raging anti-Zionist. It appears that Jane also has Jewish heritage.
Deutch’s article centered around this heinous piece Jane wrote for The New Republic on June 14, which defended the recent anti-Israel protest outside the Nova Exhibit in New York. The “breaking news” writer claimed that the protest was not antisemitic in nature.
Here are some clips from said protest.
Appalling antisemitism in NYC — protesting an exhibit commemorating the victims of the massacre at the Nova music festival. The only logical conclusion one can make when you show up to protest against people who were murdered by Hamas, is that you support Hamas and the murder of… pic.twitter.com/c3eyZwRXvV
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) June 12, 2024
Today the almost daily anti-Israel protests that have besieged NYC since Oct 7th converged on the Nova Exhibit. Those who went to commemorate the slaughter of 100s of innocent Israelis at a music festival were met with chants of “intifada revolution” pic.twitter.com/6mT8FpLfp5
— daniela (@daniela127) June 11, 2024
The TNR journalist also refuses to accept the actual definition of Zionism as the right to self-determination of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland. Jane has defended this since-expelled Columbia student, who led anti-Israel protests on its campus:
In April, Jane called it ‘insane’ for the White House to criticize a Columbia student who said on social media that Zionists deserve to die, because ‘Zionism is synonymous with ethnonationalist supremacy and *not* Judaism.’
Since Deutch’s article was published on June 20, Jane’s behavior has not changed; this “journalist” and activist continues to share despicable comments and reposts on X (formerly Twitter). This, despite TNR magazine editor Michael Tomasky’s assurance, quoted in the article, that the publication is “working to address the situation.”
Jane took to X to defend anti-Israel protesters, while there is a clear presence of a Hamas flag in the frame:
Just a reminder that NYPD fully and illegally kettled the anti-genocide demo outside a Biden campaign event in Manhattan, then made arrests because the group they prevented from moving…didn’t move. https://t.co/FhcPtXzof0
— Talia Jane (@taliaotg) June 29, 2024
Jane also reposted a donation link from the Hamas-run Gaza Municipality’s X account.
Our damages amount to approximately 1 billion dollars. Please help us raise the first million. Your support is crucial for us to continue our efforts in #Gaza City.
Donation link: https://t.co/DR0P9iVohK
— بلدية غزة – Municipality of Gaza (@munigaza) June 26, 2024
It is a wonder, that after intense backlash over Jane’s piece more than two weeks ago, TNR’s chief editors have allowed this journalist to remain on their staff. The most they appeared to muster up was a disclaimer at the top of said piece.
Although Jane’s articles are currently more US politics-focused in recent weeks, that does not detract from still occurring behavior online. Does TNR approve of this kind of rhetoric and biased, unprofessional behavior to define their reputation?
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Why Will The New Republic Not Take Action Against Inciteful New Hire? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.