Nathan Jeffay
By Nathan Jeffay
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The Schmooze Heath Ministry Allocates Shekels to Solve Problem of Electronic Doors
At the entrances to Israeli hospitals, like public buildings across the world, there are often electronic doors which open when the sensor is set off. No problem – except for observant Jews on the Sabbath, as operating the doors is deemed Sabbath transgression. The Haredi newspaper Yated Ne’eman reports that the Health Ministry, which is…
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News The Virtual Tour Guide
It seems to be the perfect companion for traveling in Israel: a tour guide that comes with an “off” switch. Last November, Israel’s Tourism Ministry launched a free iPhone and iPad application that identifies your location anywhere in the country and suggests nearby sites and attractions to visit, providing the contact details for each one…
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The Schmooze Knesset’s Ethics Committee Introduces Forfeit For Cursing in the Plenum
Just a few days ago, we reported on the mischievous behavior of some Knesset members, spraying air freshener around the chamber while claiming that former Labor Chairman Ehud Barak’s creation of a new party “stinks.” And they aren’t the only lawmakers whose conduct has been raising eyebrows. Back in October Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon…
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The Schmooze Couple Branded Troublemakers for Sitting Together on Israeli Bus
Couple Rides Bus. Hardly the subject for a news article in a national newspaper, but welcome to the bizarre world of Israel’s Haredi media. You may recall that there’s controversy in Israel about gender-segregated bus lines in Israel – or in Hebrew mehadrin lines. Earlier this month, the High Court ruled that they are legal,…
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News The Chinese Discover Jews and Israel and Can’t Seem To Get Enough
Back in 1991 Chen Yiyi was, as he puts it, a “bored” law student at Peking University. At the time, China was in the process of formalizing relations with Israel, and the Chinese Education Ministry and Israel’s Foreign Ministry selected his university as the site of China’s first Hebrew course taught by visiting Israeli teachers….
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The Schmooze Peeling Back The Forbidden Strawberry
It’s the forbidden fruit… unless peeled. The strawberry has been the cause of much rabbinical consternation in recent years. The reason is that many rabbis believe strawberries to be a favorite hangout for insects, and eating an insect is actually more problematic in Jewish law than eating pork. Now one of Israel’s most prolific Haredi…
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The Schmooze Kadima’s Objections to Barak’s New Faction Take a Hilarious Turn
In all the excitement, controversy and dismay related to Israel’s Defense Minister abandoning his party, Labor, and forming a new faction, it seems that many of us overlooked the funny part. As the Forward reported here, in what many viewed as an act of self-preservation as Labor turned on him, Likud Barak has now set…
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News Does Arab Money Fund Left-Wing Israeli NGOs?
In the context of Israeli politics, it is the most incendiary charge made thus far against human rights groups and other left-wing nongovernmental organizations: that some of the money that funds their work comes from Arabs — or even from terrorists. As the Knesset steams ahead with plans to probe the country’s human rights groups,…
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