Germany’s liberal rabbinical association expels rabbi at center of sweeping scandal

BERLIN (JTA) – The embattled Rabbi Walter Homolka, accused of abuse of power at the liberal rabbinical seminary he founded, has suffered yet another consequence: expulsion from Germany’s liberal rabbinical association. The expulsion does not affect any work that Homolka might do as a rabbi or professor in Germany or beyond. But it strips him […]

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Holocaust ‘Book of Names’ to be inaugurated at the UN underscores the individual identities of the 6 million

When Yad Vashem was created in 1953 on the slopes of Jerusalem’s Mount of Remembrance to commemorate the Holocaust, its founders understood that one of the central functions of the institution would be to document the names of the 6 million Jewish victims. It was seen as a moral imperative: to demonstrate that behind the […]

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Orthodox pilgrimage to the grave of Kabbalah rabbi buried in Istanbul picks up after COVID slump

ISTANBUL (JTA) — Dozens of Orthodox Jews gathered on a hill overlooking the Bosphorus Strait.  Above them, guarding the hilltop, stood a Turkish military base, and below sat the swanky Istanbul neighborhood of Ortaköy. Dominating the view was the 15th of July Martyrs Bridge, which connects Europe and Asia. On the Asian side of the […]

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