Justinology

Man, how often do I get to parody Cheap Trick lyrics in story titles?

Zealots accused of beating Jerusalem woman for allegedly consorting with men, torching store selling MP4 players, fearing devout Jews would use them to download pornography. ‘It’s very similar to what you hear about in countries like Iran,’ says novelist Naomi Ragen.

Full Article

As much as I hate to say it, even though it’s confined to Haredi neighborhoods, this is Jewish terrorism against the Jewish community.  Until Israel is once again a theocratic monarchy (I may have just invented that term, but the Israel of the Bible was to be ruled by God via a king), this is a case of assuming two wrongs make a right.

Religious Zionist rabbis attacked the Chief Rabbinate on Sunday for adopting a hard-line haredi stance to the upcoming shmita (sabbatical) year instead of showing sensitivity to the needs and interests of Jewish farmers and the majority of Jewish consumers.

“We must put an end to the Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly over kosher supervision, because it no longer performs its primary function – providing halachic solutions for the entire Jewish people,” said Rabbi Benny Lau, head of the Beit Morasha Institute, which trains rabbis and educators. “I believe a grassroots movement should push to create an alternative rabbinic body that would reinstitute the historical mission of the Chief Rabbinate.”

Full Article (Jerusalem Post)

In all honesty, while I find this topic interesting, I have no expertise from which to speak. I once heard a religious Jew I highly respect claim the Haredim were living in the past, but that’s a position I don’t know enough about to support.