yeshivas

Pedestrians walk past a yeshiva in the South Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, April 9, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images via JTA)

August 14, 2019, 4:47 am

Why NY Jewish schools are joining fight against increasing secular education

Orthodox yeshivas, Catholic schools and elite private schools are coming together to oppose a government initiative that would more clearly define what they are required to teach

By Josefin Dolsten

Students meditate as part of the morning prayer at Romemu Yeshiva in New York, July 16, 2019. The yeshiva combines intensive study of Jewish text with mindfulness and mysticism. (Ben Sales)

July 21, 2019, 6:08 am

Tai chi with tefillin: Inside New York’s quirkiest yeshiva

Romemu Yeshiva seeks to show American Jews that Eastern concepts, such as meditation, mindfulness and mystical philosophy, are part of Jewish tradition

By Ben Sales

A nurse prepares the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine at the Rockland County Health Department in Haverstraw, Rockland County, New York, on April 5, 2019. (Johannes Eisele/AFP)

April 9, 2019, 5:28 pm

NYC authorities threaten to close Brooklyn yeshivas over unvaccinated students

Health department takes step after hundreds of measles cases reported in ultra-Orthodox communities in Williamsburg

By Marcy Oster

Illustrative photo of ultra-Orthodox school girls in New York. (Uri Lenz/Flash90)

November 21, 2018, 9:40 pm

New York ultra-Orthodox schools may lose state funding for inadequate curriculum

Updated guidelines will see inspectors visit education institutions to check English and math are being taught to proper standards

By JTA

With an array of fun learning aids, STEM education is no chore. (Courtesy HAFTR)

January 18, 2018, 3:18 am

New York school funding law means STEM fields could see more yeshiva grads

New mandate subsidizes science and tech studies for state’s nonpublic schools — including Jewish day schools

By Cathryn J. Prince

Education Minister Naftali Bennett (L) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a plenum session in the Knesset on December 5, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

March 16, 2017, 3:48 pm

Bennett blasts Netanyahu for failing to defend pre-army academy

Amid uproar over rabbi who called female soldiers ‘crazy,’ education minister tells PM he ‘abandoned religious Zionism’

By Alexander Fulbright and Judah Ari Gross

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman seen with Jewish Home head Naftali Bennett during a plenum session and vote on expanding the number of ministers in the newly forming government, May 11, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

March 15, 2017, 11:49 pm

Liberman, Bennett spar over rabbi who disparaged female soldiers

Defense minister accuses Jewish Home head of backing those who want to ‘turn Israel into Iran,’ calls on Rabbi Yigal Levinstein to resign

By TOI staff

Rabbi Yigal Levinstein teaching a lesson in 2013. (Screen capture: YouTube)

March 15, 2017, 5:12 pm

Defense minister demands rabbi who disparaged female troops resign

Referencing history of controversial statements, Liberman threatens to cut support for academies under Yigal Levinstein if he doesn’t step down

By TOI staff

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri speaks at a Shas party conference in Jerusalem on February 16, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

March 9, 2017, 4:30 pm

Interior minister praises ‘brave’ rabbi who called female IDF troops ‘crazy’

Shas party leader Aryeh Deri hails Yigal Levinstein for not being afraid ‘to say the truth’ about women soldiers

By Alexander Fulbright

IDF Spokesperson Moti Almoz speaks to the press on June 15, 2014. (Flash90)

March 9, 2017, 2:10 pm

After rabbi chides ‘crazy’ female soldiers, IDF says army is ‘for everyone’

Yigal Levinstein, who said women who do military service end up as ‘non-Jews,’ apologizes for ‘style’ but not content of his remarks

By Judah Ari Gross

March 9, 2017, 12:34 am

Levinstein refuses to apologize for disparaging female soldiers

Despite public uproar, Jewish Home’s Naftali Bennett rejects calls to close down pre-army academy headed by controversial rabbi

By TOI staff

Zionist Union party chair Isaac Herzog (C) leads a party meeting at the Knesset, November 30, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

March 8, 2017, 8:50 pm

Fresh scorn heaped on rabbi who derided female soldiers

Religious umbrella group says Yigal Levinstein’s comments ‘not our way’; opposition calls to defund his pre-military academy

By TOI staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on March 8, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

March 8, 2017, 12:04 pm

Netanyahu hails female troops after uproar over rabbi’s derisive comments

In response to Yigal Levinstein’s statement that girls serving in IDF is ‘crazy,’ prime minister says ‘we are proud’ of women soldiers

By Alexander Fulbright and Raphael Ahren

The interior of the Sublime House, believed to be the seat of a 12-century yeshiva in the city of Rouen, France. (screen capture: YouTube)

August 5, 2016, 4:47 pm

France to rescue Europe’s ‘oldest Jewish building’

12th-century structure discovered under a courthouse parking lot in the city of Rouen is believed to be remains of ancient yeshiva

By JTA

Illustrative photo of soldiers from Nahal Haredi, an ultra-Orthodox battalion in the Israel Defense Forces (Abir Sultan/Flash90, File)

August 1, 2016, 9:02 pm

IDF said to revoke 4,000 exemptions for Haredi men

Army reportedly drafts ultra-Orthodox over photos on Facebook showing them with women, in ‘immodest’ clothing at beach

By JTA and TOI staff