The Haredi Platoon Commander in the IDF & Other Orthodox Jews in the News

Lakewood Orthodox Leaders to Trump: Rethink Charlottesville
Rabbi Aaron Kotler speaks out against Trump’s lack of reaction to Charlottesville. Kotler, CEO of Beth Medrash Govoha, and Weisberg are members of Lakewood’s Vaad, or Jewish council, which represents a large amount of the Orthodox Jewish community in public policy issues. The Orthodox population comprises more than half of the township’s estimated 100,000 population.

Shul Runnings: Chabad’s Plan for Olympic Success in South Korea
Jewish athletes are set to receive a warm welcome at an otherwise chilly winter Olympics, thanks to the efforts of Chabad. The upcoming games will be taking place in South Korea next February. The Lubavitch Chassidic sect, which sends emissaries around the world, has had a presence in the country since 2008, when Rabbi Osher and Mussy Litzman set up a branch there.

Jews Should Use Charlottesville To Overcome Bigotry — And Black People Can, Too
For me, an Orthodox rabbi, Charlottesville is also an opportunity for something I have long hoped for: a coming together of African Americans and Jews. Since the days in which Jews marched alongside our black brothers and sisters in Selma for civil rights, there has been a tragic fraying of the relationship between these two American populations. But in truth, the relationship between the two groups has always been fraught, and understandably so.

This Hasidic Picture Book Teaches Children About Sexual Abuse
Zai Gezunt! is the Yiddish translation of Artscroll’s Let’s Stay Safe, written by Bracha Goetz and illustrated by Tova Leff, a picture book that talks about children’s safety of all kinds: crossing the road, fire emergencies, bicycle caution. But couched in between these subjects, one finds several pages devoted to the importance of personal space, of staying away from strangers, and of informing an adult when anyone – a relative, a teacher, a stranger – comes dangerously, inappropriately, close.

From ‘Cheder’ to Platoon Commander
Lieutenant Shlomo Weizman, a platoon commander in the Haruv reconnaissance unit, will now preside over his soldier’s swearing-in at the Western Wall plaza. But his story begins in the haredi home where he grew up and in the Netzach Yehuda battalion to which he enlisted.

This Kosher BBQ Fest Is A Smokin’ Hot Ticket
Song and dance are only a fraction of the fun to be had at Hava Nagrilla Smoke BBQ Festival, the smokin’ hot event taking place this Sunday, August 27, in Philadelphia. The first kosher barbecue competition in the area to be sanctioned by the estimable Kansas City Barbecue Society, the event is hosted by the men’s club of Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El to raise money for Philadelphia food banks.

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