The following partially-translated article appeared in one of Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious newspapers, “Yated Ne’eman” (name roughly translated into “Faithful Tent-Peg”) on May 2000. It was written by Rabbi Chaim Shaul Karelitz, one of the most prominent leaders of the Jewish ultra-Orthodoxy at the time, and largely reflected the Jewish ultra-Orthodox attitude towards the state […]

Israel won the 2018 Eurovision song contest. Great! This means that next year (2019) – the contest is due to take place in the Holy Land. It’s a big opportunity for income and public relations. For many it’s also a good opportunity to strengthen the status of Jerusalem, or at least its sectors that are […]

What do you know… a large stone fell off the Western Wall. Almost hit a Jewish woman who was standing there praying. Here, see for yourself. What does one usually do when a large stone breaks apart from a big wall? Well, if it’s Berlin Wall – you do your best to keep it as […]

The Israeli ‘Games of Chef’ TV series has a history of picking “interesting” candidates for the competition. The last program (May 22, 2018) presented, among others, two men: Tamir, a person who recently became ultra-Orthodox, and, Leizer, who has left the “Haredi” (ultra-Orthodox) world and became secular. The two were preparing their dishes at the […]

Traditionally, Passover (‘Pesach’ in Hebrew) represents the holiday of freedom. According to the legend (perceived as history by many), it was the time the ancient Hebrews escaped slavery. In Passover many Jews read the ‘Haggadah’, which tells all these ancient stories. Yet, Passover is identified by one distinct famous tradition: The avoidance of bread. Actually, […]

Many of Israel’s officials have condemned Poland’s recent legislation and announcements about denying Poland’s part in the Holocaust, and rightfully so. It’s bad to twist history to suit one’s agenda. It’s even worse when performed by official representatives of a big country. Not only have they condemned the actions, but they have also mentioned the […]

It’s that time of the year again… when the number changes and people celebrate. Progress has taken its toll, and terms like “Christmas”, “New Year’s Eve” and “Silvester” have all mixed up worldwide into something vague, often called “the holiday season”. This may include vacations, Christmas trees and pictures or dolls of the imaginary Santa […]

“The State of Israel … will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex …” — From the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel Wait a minute… Suppose someone’s religion is in favor of killing innocent people? Does he or she still […]

This week the Jewish people, specifically the religious ones, mark the date of “the ninth of Av” – when according to Jewish tradition the second temple (and presumably also the first one) was destroyed, and many were killed. There are many similarities between the disasters of “the ninth of Av”, about 2,000 years ago, and […]

By Ido Sokolovsky (Original article in Hebrew here) Basically, there are two types of religious people in our world. There are those who draw the line between their world of values and the real world, still there are those who don’t. In Israel, the most prominent representative of the first kind was the late Prof. […]