Join our Community
Support ToI and remove all ads
Learn more

ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 649

Uri Regev

File: Lawyers Rabbi Uri Regev (far right) and Edna Meyrav with their client from Elad at a Supreme Court hearing in 2014. (Courtesy: Hiddush)
March 17, 2023, 8:48 am
What Matters Now to religion and state activist Uri Regev: Averting a theocracy
The Israeli lawyer/Reform rabbi explains how the judicial overhaul package may affect religious freedom – and the lack thereof – in the Holy Land
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Immigrants from France arriving at Ben Gurion Airport, July 2018. (Nir Kafri, The Jewish Agency for Israel)
December 24, 2019, 9:24 pm
Amended figures refute claim that 6 of 7 immigrants since 2012 aren’t Jewish
Population Authority statistics show some 95% of Western immigrants are recognized by Israel’s rabbinate as Jewish, but only about a third from former Soviet Union
By Sam Sokol and ToI Staff
Immigrants from France arriving at Ben Gurion Airport, July 2018. (Nir Kafri, The Jewish Agency for Israel)
December 23, 2019, 5:45 pm
Population Authority dismisses claim 85% of immigrants to Israel aren’t Jewish
Hiddush, a religious freedom organization, releases erroneous number, obtained through a freedom of information request, also claiming 70% of US immigrants are non-Jews
By Sam Sokol
Conservative Jews praying at Robinson’s Arch in Jerusalem, July 30, 2014. (Robert Swift/ Flash90/ via JTA/ File)
September 7, 2018, 4:31 pm
Israelis want American Jewish help in promoting religious pluralism, study finds
Overwhelming numbers of Israelis want a reduction in religious restrictions imposed by the Orthodox state rabbinate, even as most prefer Orthodox practice
By Ben Sales
Members of Women of the Wall hold up a Torah scroll during a prayer service marking the first day of the Jewish month of Elul, on August 23, 2017, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City. (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana)
September 15, 2017, 7:05 pm
Mayim Bialik, Michael Douglas join call for religious freedom in Israel
Statement signed by dozens of rabbis, leaders and celebrities across religious spectrum urges Israeli reforms, including for civil marriage and gender equality at holy sites
By JTA
Conservative Jews pray at the temporary egalitarian Robinson's Arch prayer pavilion at the southern end of the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on July 30, 2014. (Robert Swift/Flash90)
August 31, 2017, 6:32 am
Could a 1924 British Mandate law kill the Western Wall pluralistic pavilion?
A long-awaited High Court hearing will assemble petitioners on both sides of a frozen government decision to stake their claims at Judaism’s holiest site
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Jewish men pray during the holiday of Tisha B'Av at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on August 1, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
August 22, 2017, 9:54 pm
US State Department slams Israeli stagnation on religious freedom reform
Annual report homes in on hot-button areas of Western Wall pluralism, conversion and who has the right to pray at the country’s holiest sites
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Illustrative image of an ultra-Orthodox Israeli contractor greeting a Palestinian construction worker as he and others wait on the Palestinian side of the checkpoint at the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
April 20, 2017, 6:32 pm
Reform and Conservative Judaism left out of new Israeli pluralism index
Survey of 1,300 Jewish and Arab Israelis is a window into seeds of coexistence, and lingering prejudice
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Approaching a year to the Israeli government's cabinet decision to create a pluralistic prayer pavilion at Jerusalem's Western Wall, the implementation is stymied in politics. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)
January 13, 2017, 1:20 pm
With a spotlight on the Western Wall, is this Israel’s Reform moment?
In an increasingly exclusionary religious Israel, Modern Orthodox Israelis are joining forces with a flourishing Liberal Jewry. Approaching a year to the announcement of a pluralistic prayer pavilion, will this partnership see it built?
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Illustrative photo of a ritual bath attendant, a woman who checks that the immersion in the bath is kosher according to the Jewish tradition. (Hadas Parush/Flash 90)
June 22, 2016, 6:33 pm
In about-face, rabbinate says attendant not mandatory in ritual bath
In Israeli religious authorities’ allowing women to immerse in the mikveh in privacy, some see a possible recognition of other ways of expressing Judaism
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Illustrative wedding photo. (JTA)
June 2, 2016, 3:58 pm
In Ottoman holdover, Israel doubles down on marriage restrictions
Knesset upholds 2-year jail term for Jewish couples who don’t choose an approved rabbi to conduct their weddings
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Israel Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Naor (seated, center) during a court hearing, October 29, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
April 1, 2016, 4:05 pm
Will Supreme Court’s bite out of rabbinate monopoly be upheld?
In landmark ruling aimed to embrace diversity of the Jewish people, conversions outside auspices of Israel’s religious authority are to be acceptable for immigration status. But will this decision too be ‘castrated’ by a coalition of religious MKs?
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Broken Star of David
March 14, 2016, 4:04 pm
What happens when two Jews means two different peoplehoods?
The clash between much of the Diaspora and Israel over conversion and the question of ‘Who is a Jew?’ means the Jewish state now has two de facto classes of Jews. Where will it all end?
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Illustrative photo of a couple having a wedding picture taken at the Western Wall, in the Old City of Jerusalem, April 2011. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
January 12, 2016, 3:44 pm
660,000 Israelis unable to get married here
Prohibitions on civil and non-Orthodox weddings block 364,000 immigrants, 284,000 gays and lesbians, 13,000 non-Orthodox converts to Judaism, Knesset caucus told
By ToI Staff and JTA
As Modern Orthodox Israelis begin grassroots efforts pushing for the demonopolization of the rabbinate, change is in the air. (Falling dominoes image via Shutterstock)
December 27, 2015, 9:56 pm
Will Orthodox Israelis’ revolt against the chief rabbinate spur a domino effect?
An in-depth look at a year of shifting sands in the notorious historical status quo of religion and state in the Holy Land
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Load More
Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community
Paying ToI Community members are invited to comment on articles
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By joining you agree to the terms and conditions
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community
Only ToI Community members can comment below articles
Forgot your password? / Send me a login link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.
Never miss breaking news on Israel
Get notifications to stay updated
You're subscribed
image
Register for free
and continue reading
Registering allows you to manage your newsletters and alerts and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.