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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 433

Judah Ari Gross

Judah Ari Gross

Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at a conference in Jerusalem, February 21, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
March 2, 2023, 3:11 pm
Liberal American Jews urge US to revoke Smotrich’s visa over Huwara remarks
Two groups call for finance minister, set soon for US trip, to be denied entry for saying Palestinian town should be ‘wiped out’; other US Jewish leaders also condemn his comments
By Judah Ari Gross and Jacob Magid
A woman shops for matzah at a supermarket in Jerusalem on March 31, 2020. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90/File)
March 1, 2023, 10:52 pm
Softened bill banning Passover ‘hametz’ from hospitals cleared for first reading
After fiery debate, MKs tweak legislation to give hospital directors more control over how to keep leavened goods out during Jewish holiday, rather than imposing a blanket ban
By Judah Ari Gross
Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs speaks at a protest against the government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv on February 25, 2023. (Screenshot)
February 26, 2023, 5:18 pm
Reform Judaism head: Critics say US Jews can’t have an opinion, then seek our help
After addressing Saturday night protest in Tel Aviv, Rabbi Rick Jacobs says he was representing majority of US Jews when he spoke out against government’s planned judicial overhaul
By Judah Ari Gross
Jewish Agency Chairman Doron Almog speaks to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem on February 23, 2023. (Amit Elkayam/Conference of Presidents)
February 23, 2023, 11:17 pm
Jewish Agency chief urges US Jewry to speak out on proposed judicial overhaul
‘This is the time to strengthen your involvement, to make your voice heard,’ Doron Almog tells visiting American Jewish leaders, calls plans to limit Law of Return ‘unacceptable’
By Judah Ari Gross
Illustrative: A man shops for bread in a supermarket in Jerusalem. (Orel Cohen/Flash90)
February 22, 2023, 10:20 pm
Bills advance to ban hametz from hospitals on Passover, boost rabbinic court powers
Legislation would allow religious courts to rule on civil cases when there is consent from both sides
By ToI Staff and Judah Ari Gross
Leader of the opposition and Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid speaks at a protest against the government's judicial overhaul program outside the Knesset, February 13, 2023. (Arie Leib)
February 22, 2023, 5:14 pm
Lapid thanks US Jews for criticism of overhaul, backs talks if coalition halts bills
In a letter to Jewish Federations, the opposition leader says he supports President Herzog’s calls for negotiations, insists legislative advance stop
By Judah Ari Gross
Reform rabbis and supporters of Women of the Wall march to the Western Wall with a sign protesting a bill that would criminalize women wearing prayer shawls at the holy site, on February 22, 2023. (Central Conference of American Rabbis)
February 22, 2023, 11:28 am
Reform rabbis assailed as they try to bring Torah scrolls to women at Western Wall
Members of the Noam party’s youth movement overrun holy site’s egalitarian section, are escorted out by police
By Judah Ari Gross
A government handout shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeting sailors at a welcoming ceremony for the new Rahav submarine in Haifa, on January 12, 2016. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
February 22, 2023, 12:33 am
Hundreds of ex-submariners urge stop to overhaul ‘before we reach the abyss’
Reservists and retired former troops accuse Netanyahu of sowing division; military prosecution officials warn legal shakeup could expose politicians, IDF commanders to ICC lawsuits
By Judah Ari Gross
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) speaks with one of the architects of the government's judicial overhaul Justice Minister Yariv Levin in the Knesset plenum, December 13, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
February 21, 2023, 6:34 pm
In highly unusual move, major US Jewish group decries proposed judicial overhaul
Jewish Federations, a massive umbrella group, departs from usual practice of being mum on Israeli politics, warns against ‘dramatic’ proposal to let Knesset override High Court
By Judah Ari Gross
Demonstrators rally on a highway in Tel Aviv to protest the Israeli government's planned overhaul of the judicial system, on February 18, 2023. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
February 19, 2023, 7:48 pm
Conservative movement: Legal overhaul would ‘eviscerate’ Israeli checks and balances
Joining other international Jewish groups, Masorti-Conservative leadership comes out in favor of President Herzog’s call to freeze legislation, hold dialogue on judicial reform
By Judah Ari Gross
Illustrative: Workers prepare matzah, the unleavened bread eaten during the Jewish holiday of Passover, at the Aviv Matzah plant in Bnei Brak on April 14, 2019. (Flash90)
February 19, 2023, 4:30 pm
Bills to ban hametz, expand powers of rabbinic courts breeze through committee
AG comes out against proposal criminalizing bringing leavened goods into hospitals during Passover; groups representing ‘chained’ women oppose letting rabbis adjudicate civil cases
By Judah Ari Gross
A view of the egalitarian plaza, often referred to as 'Robinson's Arch,' at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on December 30, 2021. (Amy Spiro/Times of Israel)
February 17, 2023, 12:50 am
Government tells High Court it still plans to improve Western Wall egalitarian plaza
Responding to multiple court petitions, state says it is working to implement long-stalled, six-year-old cabinet decision, angering both liberal and conservative groups
By Judah Ari Gross
Illustrative: An Israeli couple photographed for their wedding at a blossoming almond tree field in Latrun on February 25, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
February 16, 2023, 2:55 pm
As Jewish Israelis lose trust, fewer are marrying through the Rabbinate
The number of Jews registering weddings with the state body has decreased since 2011, even as the population has grown by more than 20%, religious advocacy group finds
By Judah Ari Gross
Israelis wave flags during a protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 13, 2023 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
February 14, 2023, 10:36 pm
75 Israeli Orthodox leaders call for dialogue on judicial overhaul
Though many signatories of open letter have deep ties to settler movement, most are part of the more liberal wing of the religious Zionist community
By Judah Ari Gross
The United Hatzalah rescue delegation that was dispatched to Turkey after the country's devastating earthquakes pose for a photograph on February 12, 2023. (United Hatzalah)
February 12, 2023, 4:14 pm
Some Israeli rescuers depart Turkey over safety fears, as locals fume at government
United Hatzalah says it was pressed to leave due to threats stemming from neighboring Syria and growing civil unrest; separately, IDF ends rescue efforts, focusing on medical care
By Judah Ari Gross
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