Seth Berkman
By Seth Berkman
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Fast Forward U. Penn Researchers: Orthodox Groups Distorted Our Report on Circumcision Rite
The authors of a research report on metzitzah b’peh say their study is being distorted by defenders of the controversial ritual circumcision practice who claim that the procedure poses no risk of neonatal herpes to infants. In an April 9 press release headlined “Ivy League Study Casts Doubt on Claims that Jewish Tradition Leads to…
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Fast Forward Fake Rabbi Gets 5 Years in Immigration Scam
A lawyer who posed as a rabbi and ran an immigration fraud mill was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday. For 13 years, The David Firm, led by “Rabbi Avraham David,” whose real name is Earl Seth David, accepted millions of dollars in fees from undocumented immigrants in return for aid in obtaining…
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Fast Forward Yeshiva Demonstration Against Jimmy Carter Honor Fizzles at Cardozo
A planned protest of former President Jimmy Carter’s appearance at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law fizzled as he came to accept an award at the downtown Manhattan campus. In an email to the Forward on Wednesday, Daniel Rubin, 62, who earlier said a dozen former alumni were planning an act of civil disobedience in…
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Fast Forward Driver Who Killed Princeton Rabbi Was Taking Depression Medication
The driver that killed esteemed Princeton rabbi Jim Diamond, had been taking depression medication and the police were called to his home a week before the accident, according to local reports. The Princeton Packet said that Eric Maltz, 20, had trashed his bedroom on March 21, but the police found him “calmly sitting on his…
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Fast Forward Michael Savage Slams Controversial Circumcision Practice on the Radio
On his nationally syndicated radio show on Monday, conservative host Michael Savage slammed metzitzah b’peh, the Orthodox Jewish circumcision ritual that has led to the transmission of herpes in infant males. Savage, citing a Fox News online article headlined, “Two infants contract herpes following circumcision,” said it was a story “that shakes you to your…
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News Hit by Sandy, Jewish Congregation in Rockaways Finds Renewed Faith in Trailer
On a recent Friday evening, Shabbat services at the West End Temple in the Rockaways was literally humming. The vibrations weren’t emanating from members immersed in prayer. They came from a diesel generator that powers the 50-foot-long trailer where services are being held since the congregation’s sanctuary suffered severe damage from Hurricane Sandy. Nearly six…
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Fast Forward Religious Leaders Unite for LGBT Rights in Immigration Reform Bill
As momentum builds in Congress for LGBT equality, locally, in New York, nearly 100 local interfaith leaders have signed a letter to Senator Charles Schumer to include equal protection for LGBT families in immigration reform legislation. “In the last two weeks we have seen an unprecedented amount of senators step forward in favor of equal…
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News Second Jewish Infant Contracts Herpes From Controversial Circumcision Rite
Another Jewish newborn — the second in three months — has contracted neonatal herpes due to a controversial oral suctioning technique employed during ritual circumcision, New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has reported. The parents of the child did not sign a recently mandated city consent form authorizing the mohel who conducted…
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