Mayim Bialik’s “Big Bang” Run Comes to Historic Close & Other Orthodox Jews in the News

The Story Behind Iceland’s Only Rabbi
Estimates of Iceland’s Jewish population range from zero to a couple hundred. Officially and legally, the government of Iceland doesn’t recognize Judaism as a religion. Rabbi Avi Feldman, a tall, lanky 27-year-old with a tawny beard who hails from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, has made it his mission to raise the tally.

A Chic New Kosher Cafe Debuts This Month Near the Galleria
The Market Local Comfort Cafe will focus on being inclusive, no matter their guests’ dietary preferences. “It’s pescatarian, with options for vegans and vegetarians. It’s fresh, scratch-made food that just happens to also be kosher.”

Put Your Family and Your Community First: Get Vaccinated Against Measles
The New York Mayor’s Office and the Orthodox Jewish community collaborated for this important PSA. Don’t let misinformation jeopardize the health of your community family, neighbors and community. Getting vaccinated against the measles protects the most vulnerable from danger, and it’s totally safe and easy.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews Vaccinate, Too: Stop Blaming One Community For the Measles Outbreak
The New York State Health Department reports the average vaccination rate for measles among the nearly 200 Jewish K-12 schools in Brooklyn — mainly in Borough Park and Williamsburg — is 96%, six percentage points higher than the statewide average among private schools. In contrast, six other New York counties have a vaccination rate below 50%.

Maywood Cop, Who is Also a Firefighter, Photographed in Orthodox Jewish Yarmulke
Photos of a Maywood police officer dressed in the traditional style of an Orthodox Jewish man prompted an internal investigation and led officials in Rochelle Park, where the officer is a firefighter, to require anti-harassment training for all township volunteers. Rochelle Park officials say Pete Donatello III has been disciplined by the fire department for wearing a yarmulke and a traditional hairstyle of sidecurls, or payot, during a party at the township firehouse.

Mayim Bialik On ‘Big Bang Theory’ Showed Me An Orthodox Woman Can Do Anything
She identifies as Modern Orthodox, and so values her Jewish commitments that the show worked with her schedule and filmed on Tuesday nights instead of the Friday night schedule that most television sitcoms abide by (“I obviously have to plan my challah baking,” she told the Jerusalem Post when asked about being an Observant Jew).

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