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We need to address our homophobia

Jul 04, 2019 4 Comments

It’s time for us to stop avoiding the conversation about homosexuality and orthodox Judaism. Children are dying while we pretend that there is no need to talk about it.
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Billionaire behind Israeli politics is a Hollywood kingpin

Jul 04, 2019 Go comment!

The ongoing saga about the possible indictment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for fraud and breach of trust has surprising tentacles, some connected to SA.
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New era beckons for SA country communities

Jul 04, 2019 Go comment!

As reported elsewhere in this issue, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies’ restructuring of its country communities department has taken an encouraging turn. At a special stakeholders meeting on Sunday, it was agreed to proceed with the establishment of a new independent body to carry out this important work in future.
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World News in Brief

Jul 04, 2019 Go comment!

Great Park Shul robbed The Great Park Shul in Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, was robbed in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
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Who needs rabbis anyway?

Jul 04, 2019 Go comment!

A small group of daring though deeply spiritual people gathered in the Sinai desert 3 330 years ago with a bold proposition: to create a framework wherein man and G-d engage directly without any space or need for further human intervention – “we are all holy in the eyes of G-d”.
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Swastika-clad ‘soldier’ knew what he was doing

Jul 04, 2019 Go comment!

It seems there is some sympathy for the man who dined at the Wimpy in Bloemfontein wearing full Nazi regalia (“Swastika-wearing ‘soldier’ in Wimpy says sorry”, SA Jewish Report, 28 June).
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‘Best Jewish tennis player’ takes on Wimbledon

Jul 04, 2019 Go comment!

These are heady days for Argentine sport. On Saturday, the Jaguares play against the Crusaders in Christchurch in their first-ever Super Rugby final, while over in sweltering England, Diego Schwartzman, the nuggety Jew from Buenos Aires, was being kept busy at Wimbledon.
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Farewell to Comrades legend Jackie Mekler

Jul 04, 2019 Go comment!

The end of a long and inspirational running road, a road that stretched more than 100 000km or nearly three-times around the world, has come for Jackie Mekler. Arguably the most successful Jewish athlete in South African history, Mekler died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, 30 June, at his home in Cape Town at the age of 87.
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Din of confusion

Jul 04, 2019 1 Comment

As a secular Jew, I am somewhat bemused by the stand the Beth Din has taken against Limmud.
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Don’t judge the judges

Jul 04, 2019 Go comment!

In regard to the Beth Din’s Limmud decision, don’t judge our judges. The Book of Ruth talks about how in the days of judging judges, there was a famine. Our rabbis ask about the seeming tautology of judging judges, and explain that because they judged their judges in order that they should not have to listen to them, they were punished with a famine. So, please don’t judge our current judges and continue all your loshan horah (negative speech). The Beth Din’s decision with regard to Limmud is its business, with reasoning beyond us.
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Banning of Limmud attendance dictatorial

Jul 04, 2019 Go comment!

The Beth Din endorsement of the Rabbinical Association’s banning of “its rabbis” from attending or teaching at Limmud is not surprising, albeit disappointing.
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Swastika-wearing ‘soldier’ in Wimpy says sorry

Jun 27, 2019 2 Comments

The elderly man who last weekend was seen enjoying breakfast at a Wimpy eatery in the Free State wearing a World War II German soldier’s uniform with a swastika armband has apologised for his actions.
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Fourth case of grave vandalism in six months

Jun 27, 2019 Go comment!

Jewish graves in Somerset West and Strand Jewish Cemetery were vandalised last week. Two tombstones were knocked over, and a grave covering was cracked, in the fourth case of Jewish grave desecration in the Western Cape since December 2018.
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Israel appoints Joburg native consul general in Los Angeles

Jun 27, 2019 Go comment!

Hillel Newman, an Israeli career diplomat born in Johannesburg, has been named Israel’s consul general for the southwestern United States, with headquarters in Los Angeles, and encompassing an area stretching from Colorado to Hawaii.
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Economic portion of Middle East plan full of anomalies

Jun 27, 2019 Go comment!

(JTA) Days ahead of a workshop where Jared Kushner sought tens of billions of dollars for his Middle East peace plan, the White House unveiled an outline of its economic portion, including proposals, like a Gaza-West Bank travel corridor, that are sure to rattle Israel’s government.
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SA journalist called out for claiming peace plan is ‘worse than apartheid’

Jun 27, 2019 Go comment!

On the eve of the unveiling of the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, Independent Media’s Foreign Editor Shannon Ebrahim had her own version of events about how the plan would be “worse than apartheid”. However, her opinions were not based on the information available, says Simon Plosker the managing editor of media watchdog HonestReporting.com.
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Statistics can be used and abused

Jun 27, 2019 Go comment!

Statistics can be useful when used properly, or troublesome if misused or abused. In some cases, this misuse can be accidental.
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Trilateral summit in Israel a coup for Netanyahu

Jun 27, 2019 Go comment!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday hosted the first-ever trilateral summit between the national security advisers of Israel, Russia, and the United States – in Jerusalem.
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Small steps to sanity: life in Mozambique after cyclone

Jun 27, 2019 Go comment!

Ripped-off rooftops, sunken roads, and lacerated power cables dot the streets of Beira. The port city on Mozambique's central coast bore the brunt of Cyclone Idai when it made landfall on 14 March, bringing heaving winds, torrential rain, and widespread flooding to various parts of south-eastern Africa.
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Limmud: Torah educators speak out

Jun 27, 2019 Go comment!

The Beth Din’s decision last week to reinforce a policy ensuring local orthodox rabbis cannot attend Limmud has caused consternation, but so far, the affected local rabbis have remained silent. Three top international orthodox rabbis and one local Torah educator give their views on orthodox rabbis participating in this Jewish learning festival.
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