December 4, 2013
7:55 pm

Rabbis Judy Schindler, Rick Jacobs and Eric Yoffie, previous President of the URJ, at Jacobs' installation. (photo credit: Clark Jones, Courtesy the Union for Reform Judaism)

Hoping for revitalization, Reform biennial opens up to outsiders

Movement facing tough challenges amid growing disaffiliation and disengagement

By Uriel Heilman

November 24, 2013
1:45 pm

Among the issues Conservative synagogues are debating is whether a non-Jewish parent may stand near the Torah during his child's bar mitzvah. (photo credit: Konstantin Goldenberg / Shutterstock/JTA)

Conservative synagogues wrestle with non-Jews in the pews

With more than a quarter of American Jewish families intermarried, leaders are increasingly having to decide how large the tent is

By Uriel Heilman

November 20, 2013
6:17 am

Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett, November 6, 2013. (photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Bennett treading carefully on religious reform

The first-time MK, who holds three ministries, has made integrating the ultra-Orthodox into the workforce a goal

By Uriel Heilman

November 11, 2013
11:25 pm

Saul Kagan, the founding executive director of the Claims Conference, right, speaks with Nahum Goldmann, the founder and longtime president of the World Jewish Congress, in 1958. (Courtesy Claims Conference via JTA)

Saul Kagan, Claims Conference founder, dies at 91

The pioneer of Holocaust restitution secured tens of billions in payments during his 47 years at the helm of the organization

By Uriel Heilman

November 5, 2013
12:30 am

Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, at the 2012 General Assembly in Baltimore, Md. (photo credit: JFNA/JTA)

Federations head says GA will be more than just talk

Ahead of next week’s General Assembly in Jerusalem, JFNA CEO Jerry Silverman says the idea is to hear and ‘concretize’ innovations

By Uriel Heilman

November 4, 2013
3:04 am

Torah Day School, an Orthodox school in Phoenix, is located in a Conservative synagogue, Beth El Congregation. (Photo credit: JTA / Courtesy Torah Day School)

Dwindling Conservative and Reform temples turn to the Orthodox

As numbers shift in US Jewry, growing Orthodox communities rent out excess space from declining, cash-strapped congregations

By Uriel Heilman

October 14, 2013
12:15 am

Conservative institutions are looking for ways to revitalize the movement and make it more appealing to young Jews. (photo credit: United Synagogue/JTA)

Facing downturn, Conservative Judaism is ready to change

The relevancy of the movement for the 21st century is the hot topic at this weekend’s centennial United Synagogue conference

By Uriel Heilman

October 3, 2013
4:02 pm

Rabbi Asher Lopatin (photo credit: via JTA)

New yeshiva head articulates spirit of ‘open Orthodoxy’

Shrugging off censure, Rabbi Asher Lopatin of the controversial Yeshivat Chovevei Torah will celebrate his installation with a roundtable of non-Orthodox leaders

By Uriel Heilman

October 1, 2013
10:29 am

Illustrative photo of Young American Jews participating in a Birthright event in Jerusalem. (photo credit: Dudi Vaknin/Flash90)

Pew survey: 6.8 million US Jews, but majority intermarry

New study finds strong connection to Israel, but not to observance of Jewish law

By Uriel Heilman

September 4, 2013
7:52 am

Members of the Women of the Wall wear prayer shawls as they pray at the Western Wall on March 12, 2013. (photo credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Fight over Jewish pluralism is top story of 5773

Links to important and explosive stories and personalities in this holistic overview of an eventful year

By Uriel Heilman

August 28, 2013
12:20 am

Rabbi Uri Topolosky and his family, seen here during a recent visit to Jerusalem, have left New Orleans and relocated to suburban Maryland. (photo credit: Courtesy Uri Topolosky)

As school crumbles, New Orleans rabbi leaves

Departure of charismatic Uri Topolosky is emblematic of the shrinking Orthodox congregations in the Big Easy

By Uriel Heilman

August 8, 2013
10:37 pm

The frequency of interfaith weddings has convinced even many Orthodox Jews to revise their approach to couples of mixed background. (Illustrative photo courtesy of Ashley Novack/JTA)

The war over intermarriage has been lost. Now what?

Across the spectrum of observance, Jewish leaders are embracing rather than shunning Jews and their gentile partners

By Uriel Heilman

August 8, 2013
12:12 am

The Hebrew Union College campus in Jerusalem (photo credit: CC BY-SA 3.0, by Deror avi, Wikimedia Commons)

Eyeing the horizon, pilot steers Reform rabbinical school

Aaron Panken follows in footsteps of Rabbi Rick Jacobs, aiming to draw people to Judaism ‘in a modern American context’

By Uriel Heilman

July 21, 2013
3:15 pm

Former US congressman Peter Deutsch. (photo credit: Uriel Heilman/JTA)

Former congressman Peter Deutsch finds new life in Israel

Ra’anana resident is an Orthodox Jew who’s made unorthodox choices

By Uriel Heilman

July 10, 2013
6:33 pm

Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky (photo credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Sharansky, Lauder demand independent probe of Claims Conference

Statement slams failure to tackle $57-million fraud in restitution payouts from German government

By Uriel Heilman

Writer: Uriel Heilman

Hoping for revitalization, Reform biennial opens up to outsiders

Movement facing tough challenges amid growing disaffiliation and disengagement

Conservative synagogues wrestle with non-Jews in the pews

With more than a quarter of American Jewish families intermarried, leaders are increasingly having to decide how large the tent is

Bennett treading carefully on religious reform

The first-time MK, who holds three ministries, has made integrating the ultra-Orthodox into the workforce a goal

Saul Kagan, Claims Conference founder, dies at 91

The pioneer of Holocaust restitution secured tens of billions in payments during his 47 years at the helm of the organization

Federations head says GA will be more than just talk

Ahead of next week’s General Assembly in Jerusalem, JFNA CEO Jerry Silverman says the idea is to hear and ‘concretize’ innovations

Dwindling Conservative and Reform temples turn to the Orthodox

As numbers shift in US Jewry, growing Orthodox communities rent out excess space from declining, cash-strapped congregations

Facing downturn, Conservative Judaism is ready to change

The relevancy of the movement for the 21st century is the hot topic at this weekend’s centennial United Synagogue conference

New yeshiva head articulates spirit of ‘open Orthodoxy’

Shrugging off censure, Rabbi Asher Lopatin of the controversial Yeshivat Chovevei Torah will celebrate his installation with a roundtable of non-Orthodox leaders

Pew survey: 6.8 million US Jews, but majority intermarry

New study finds strong connection to Israel, but not to observance of Jewish law

Fight over Jewish pluralism is top story of 5773

Links to important and explosive stories and personalities in this holistic overview of an eventful year

As school crumbles, New Orleans rabbi leaves

Departure of charismatic Uri Topolosky is emblematic of the shrinking Orthodox congregations in the Big Easy

The war over intermarriage has been lost. Now what?

Across the spectrum of observance, Jewish leaders are embracing rather than shunning Jews and their gentile partners

Eyeing the horizon, pilot steers Reform rabbinical school

Aaron Panken follows in footsteps of Rabbi Rick Jacobs, aiming to draw people to Judaism ‘in a modern American context’

Former congressman Peter Deutsch finds new life in Israel

Ra’anana resident is an Orthodox Jew who’s made unorthodox choices

Sharansky, Lauder demand independent probe of Claims Conference

Statement slams failure to tackle $57-million fraud in restitution payouts from German government

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