Seth Berkman
By Seth Berkman
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News Homeless Tent City Meets Suburbia in Orthodox Town
Shortly after being sworn in for his first term in January, Lakewood’s mayor, Albert Akerman, visited “Tent City,” an encampment of about 100 homeless people living in a densely wooded area of township land — a rare slice of open space in the fastest-growing municipality in New Jersey. Akerman, an Orthodox Jew originally from the…
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News Federal Court Refuses To Block New York Circumcision Consent Form Law
Proponents of metzitzah b’peh, the controversial circumcision ritual, were denied a request for an emergency stay in the enforcement of a recent New York City law that regulates the procedure. The decision was handed down by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The motion, filed by the Central Rabbinical Congress of…
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Breaking News ADL Will Not Oppose Sandy Shul Aid
The Anti-Defamation League will not oppose a bill that would provide federal relief aid for houses of worship, after originally opposing the idea. The ADL had stated in January that, “a taxpayer should not have to fund a religion or a religious institution with which he or she disagrees.” In an update their remarks in…
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News Aid to Sandy-Hit Synagogues Splits Jewish Lawmakers, Community Down the Middle
When Congress lingered in approving additional federal funding for communities affected by superstorm Sandy, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, forcefully criticized the delay. But when the House of Representatives voted recently to allow houses of worship to apply for federal aid after natural disasters, Nadler vehemently opposed the move. Nadler said he sympathized…
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News Gaga Goes Mainstream as Israeli Dodgeball Game Becomes Fad
For Jewish summer campers everywhere, “Lady” is not the first thing that “Gaga” brings to mind. Instead, Gaga is the name of an addictive game that provides a great workout — and that’s spreading from Jewish summer camps and day schools to the rest of America. “You don’t lose the rush,” said Jenna Silverman, 12,…
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Breaking News House Approves Aid to Sandy-Hit Synagogues
The House of Representatives approved legislation that would allow synagogues and houses of worship to be eligible for federal disaster relief. H.R. 592, the Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2013, passed 354-72, and will now move on to the Senate. Since Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast on October 29, organizations like the…
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Culture Grassroots Student Groups Calmly Tackle Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long been a fiery subject on college campuses, with national pro-Israel groups and, to a lesser extent, their pro-Palestinian counterparts vying to influence the debate. Alongside such heavy hitters as Hillel or the Muslim Students Association, smaller, student-created groups have cropped up. These grassroots groups often focus on dialogue rather than…
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News Jewish Big Easy’s Back — In Time for Super Bowl
The Jewish Big Easy is back — and the Super Bowl proves it. New Orleans Jews are eagerly trumpeting Super Bowl XLVII as a means to showcase their rebuilt community, almost seven and a half years after it suffered a devastating drop in population following Hurricane Katrina. “We were impacted by Katrina just like everyone…
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News Scoop: Heritage Foundation plans to ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors
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Opinion ‘Home is memory’: How Jews make sense of what they’ve lost in the LA fires and what remains
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News LA fires won’t stop bar mitzvahs this Shabbat, as joy and pain meet
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News HIAS cuts 22 staff even as it braces for Trump immigration crackdown
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Fast Forward A synagogue that survived the Palisades fire has become a ‘refuge’ for many who lost their homes
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