Posts Tagged: Jeremy Rosen
The Theocracy of Israel’s Rabbinate
I have always felt that in a democracy, it should not be the role of a state to impose personal religious practices on its citizens....
Jews Who Harass Christians? Not in Our Name
Recent reports that some Charedi Jews disrupted a Christian mass on Mount Zion really upset me. When insensitive bullies who dress as and proclaim their...
The Power – and Curse – of Charisma
It just never seems to end. The press publicizes yet another case of a rabbi and teacher guilty of abusing his position in a sexual...
Why the Fuss Over Ban on Orthodox Jewish Women Driving Cars?
There has been much neurotic outcry about the Belz Chasidic Yeshiva in London (note, not in Israel) for issuing a ban on women driving and...
Corruption at FIFA
You know someone is unsavory if Vladimir Putin defends him. Thank goodness Sepp Blatter, the recently reelected president of FIFA, has finally resigned. Or so...
Prophets and Conspiracies
Shavuot is the festival that commemorates not just the encounter between Moses and God on Mount Sinai, but also the "revelation" of Torah. There are...
What We Really Leave Behind When We Die
The name "Ronson" was once associated with shavers and nowadays, thanks to social media, is associated primarily with vapid "personalities" who achieve little more than...
Alienation Inside and Outside of Israel
Every year when Israel's Independence Day comes round, I always experience delight, pride, and sadness. Delight and pride because after two thousand years of exile, of...
Iran Will Get the Bomb, and it Won’t Be the End of the World
I was never an admirer of the Shah of Iran. I was never a fan of monarchies nor of autocracies in general, any more than...
How Sweet It Is
In 2012 a television series called Magic City appeared on Starz Network and ran for two seasons. It depicted the glamor and sleaze of Miami...
Examining the Mezuzah
According to the Biblical narrative, when the Children of Israel were still in Egypt they were commanded to prepare in various ways for the Exodus...
Marc Shapiro and Confronting the Ultra-Orthodox
If I say that Marc Shapiro is one of the most important and influential committed religious Jews alive today, you might think me guilty of...
Yeshivas Are No Longer the Domain of Holiness
"A brawl erupted at the Ponevezh Yeshiva, where a prominent rabbi, Shmuel Markovitz, was physically assaulted by a student of a rival faction, sparking...
Remembering the Jews of Salonica
While I was wondering about Jews living in Europe under difficult conditions, I was reminded of the Jews of Salonica. Once, it was one of...
