The Child Sexual Abuse Survivor Who is a Rabbi & Other Orthodox Jews in the News

Amid a Measles Outbreak, an Ultra-Orthodox Nurse Fights Vaccination Fears in Her Community
Blima Marcus is an oncology nurse and a member of the ultra-Orthodox community in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where the incidence of measles has risen sharply since last fall, as it has in similar enclaves in the New York area. In mid-November, Marcus began organizing small group sessions for ultra-Orthodox women, to answer their questions about vaccination, along with colleagues from the Orthodox Jewish Nurses Association, where she serves as the president.

How a Jewish Brother and Sister are Making Political History
43-year-old Orthodox Jewish rabbi Yehiel Kalish was just appointed to serve in Illinois House of Representatives. Just a few state lines over he can consult fellow local lawmaker Dafna Michaelson Jenet, who has been serving in the Colorado House of Representatives since 2017.She happens to be Kalish’s older sister, and he says they have been talking every day since he took office.

Orthodox Midwives Look to Service Their Community
Missing a night of sleep is pretty routine for Rivky Meldung and Gemma Greenberg. They are midwives and when they’re on call, they have to be available for childbirths 24/7. The women are two of the 800-plus midwives who practice in Ontario. But Meldung and Greenberg are unique: they’re Orthodox Jews.

How Sephardic Culture Shaped Ultra-Orthodox Judaism
Considering that more than 70% of Jews are indeed Ashkenazi, their dominance in Jewish culture is largely exaggerated. Even though Sephardis make up only 20% to 30% of world Jewry, their rituals have actually had a profound influence on Ashkenazi Haredi Judaism, especially in Jerusalem.

To Dust: An Unlikely Friendship
Shmuel, a Hasidic cantor in Upstate New York, distraught by the untimely death of his wife, struggles to find religious solace, while secretly obsessing over how her body will decay. As a clandestine partnership develops with Albert, a local community college biology professor, the two embark on a darkly comic and increasingly literal undertaking into the underworld.

A Utah Orthodox Rabbi Said His Childhood Nanny Sexually Abused Him for 10 Years. Here’s Why He Decided to Tell His Story for the First Time
Rabbi Zippel was inspired to come forward by the #MeToo movement, in particular by Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman. But he is also making history: Rabbi Zippel may be the first Orthodox Jewish rabbi to come out during the #MeToo movement as a survivor of sexual abuse — a topic he said is rarely discussed in the observant Jewish community.

Website Hosting’s Female Orthodox Face
Schwab’s company is Strattic, a web hosting platform. In the mid-2000s, Schwab was one of the first people in Israel to become an expert in WordPress, a content management system used to publish online content. After 12 years, Schwab took the plunge and decided to create something better.

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