Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Brooklyn, a borough of New York City home to a major population of Hasidic Jews.
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The Latest
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Opinion Rabbis Aren’t Always the Enemy
All competent rabbinic authorities are in agreement that cases of sexual abuse should be reported to law enforcement. Agudath Israel of America nevertheless requires parents to obtain rabbinic permission before reporting abuse to authorities. Although in the overwhelming majority of cases, abuse allegations turn out to be accurate, there has been a minority of cases…
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News Fallout From Botched Jewish ‘Hooker’ Case
A botched prostitution case against four black Crown Heights men accused of forcing an Orthodox Jewish woman into sex slavery has led to the resignation of a top prosecutor. Lauren Hersh, the head of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s sex trafficking unit, resigned from her position May 24, just a month after two of the men…
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News Charles Hynes Fires Back at Critics and Brooklyn Orthodox Leaders
Brooklyn’s embattled district attorney Charles Hynes sharply criticized an ultra-Orthodox umbrella group and launched a fierce defense of his record in prosecuting child sex abuse during a landmark interview with the Forward. Sitting in the 14th floor corner office of his downtown Brooklyn headquarters, Hynes said he was in “sharp disagreement” with Agudath Israel of…
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News Hynes Is Late To Push for Mandate Law
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes says he is pushing for passage of a new state law to force rabbis to report child sex allegations to authorities. But lawmakers say Hynes has joined the legislative fray late in the state capital of Albany, and time is running out for any measure to pass this year. “If…
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Breaking News Prosecutor Quits Over Jewish ‘Hooker’ Case
A top Brooklyn prosecutor has reportedly resigned amid questions over her handling of a racially charged Crown Heights prostitution case. Lauren Hersh, the head of the district attorney’s sex trafficking unit, handled the probe that led to two black men being charged with raping an Orthodox Jewish girl and pimping her out starting when she…
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Breaking News Accused Rabbi’s Supporters Clash With Protesters
Two ultra-Orthodox Jews were reportedly arrested after a confrontation between supporters of a Brooklyn rabbi accused of sex abuse and protesters. The Daily News reported that scores of demonstrators faced off against a much larger crowd of supporters of Rabbi Nechemya Weberman, who is accused of abusing a teenage girl, in Williamsburg. Police were called…
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News Abuse Headlines Gives Push to Tough Laws
Heightened media exposure of child sexual abuse in Brooklyn’s ultra-Orthodox communities may breathe new life into a stymied proposal to extend the statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases in New York State, the proposal’s proponents say. Sex abuse victims and their advocates hope that a flurry of high-profile news stories in The New…
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Israel News Hebrew Charter Schools Focus on Israel
Hebrew-language charter schools — long viewed by some critics as a Trojan horse for bringing religion into taxpayer-funded schools — gained a new level of acceptance when the Washington, D.C., school board recently approved the first Hebrew language school in the nation’s capital. “There is a compelling case for the advantages of bilingual teaching, and…
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