Jewish Law: Everything Is Kosher. | Inside the World of an Orthodox Jewish Community

May 5, 2023 | This eye-opening documentary series was filmed with remarkable access to the hidden world of one Orthodox community in Manchester, UK.

How do people live their everyday lives with so many traditional rules?

This film focuses on the rules for kosher food. Why are there two sinks and two fridges in all Jewish kitchens? What makes food kosher? What is involved in Kosher slaughter?

We are given unique access to the work of a team of Kosher slaughterers. They believe that this is an instant and humane method of killing animals for food.

“This fascinating documentary series accesses a world seldom seen on television”

Bloody Split in Israel: Violence Sparks between Secular & Orthodox Israelis

The Palestinian leadership has said it will put off the start of planned peace talks with Israel after three Palestinians were killed in an IDF raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank. But Israel also faces a conflict within its own society as simmering tensions between secular and orthodox Jews threaten to boil over into violent confrontation.

Barbra Streisand Criticises Treatment of Women by Orthodox Jews

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barbra Streisand waded into one of Israel's touchiest issues on the first major stop of her tour of the country – Jewish religious practices that separate men and women.

Speaking at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Monday, the 71-year-old took aim at cases of ultra-Orthodox Jews targeting women.

"It's distressing to read about women in Israel being forced to sit in the back of the bus," she said, "or when we hear about 'Women of the Wall' having metal chairs thrown at them when they attempt to peacefully and legally pray."

She was referring to isolated incidents in which ultra-Orthodox men tried to force women to sit separately at the rear of buses that go through their neighbourhoods, as well as more serious clashes in which ultra-Orthodox Jews tried to prevent women donning prayer shawls and carrying Torah scrolls from praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the holiest site where Jews can worship. » | Associated Press | Edited by Chris Irvine | Monday, June 17, 2013

'Non-Jews Are Brainless Thieves'
YNET NEWS: Rabbi Shteinman, leader of Lithuanian branch of ultra orthodox Jewry claims world was created for righteous, says nations have no principles

Speaking in Beit Shemesh ahead of the Shavuot holiday, Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, one of the leaders of the Lithuanian branch of haredi Judaism discussed the importance of the torah and said that the world was created for the righteous that learn and follow its teachings.

Yet he also issues some more controversial statements. The rabbi's speech which was published in full in the haredi newspaper Yated Ne'eman, included statements on non-Jews:

"There are eight billion people in the world. And what are they? Murderers, thieves, brainless people… But who is the essence of this world? Has God created the world for these murderers? For these evil-doers?"

The rabbi, who has replaced Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv as the Lithuanian branch of Judaism's spiritual leader, reiterated his statements and went on to say: "Non-Jews have no connection to torah. The nations have nothing, no confidence (=faith) and no good principles." » | Ynet | Monday, May 21, 2012

Justice on London's Streets, the Jewish Way
THE INDEPENDENT: With his dark-blue uniform, earpiece and walkie-talkie, Nochem Perlberger could pass for a police officer as he patrols the leafy streets of London’s Stamford Hill neighbourhood. Like an officer of the law, he responds to emergency calls, visits crime scenes and pursues suspects.

However, he is a member not of the constabulary but of the Stamford Hill Shomrim Rescue Patrol, a group of Orthodox Jewish men who, for the past two years, have been “policing” the streets of their community in Hackney.

Set up nearly two years ago, the group now has 22 patrolling members, a headquarters and even a 24-hour emergency number, staffed by six operators, which residents call to report crime. “Every house and child in the community knows this number off by heart,” said Mr Perlberger, one of the group’s committee members.

In the five months since the Stamford Hill Shomrim hotline was established, they have dealt with more than 2,000 calls including break-ins, thefts and muggings. On average, they identify three to five suspects a week and hand them over to the police. >>> Mark Hughes | Monday, January 04, 2010

Jewish Women May Rule the Kitchen - But Who Makes It Kosher?
HAARETZ: Religious Jewish women, the primary cooks in Orthodox families, have long ruled kosher kitchens and served as crucial, informal kosher watchdogs for their families and guests. But those women are rarely trusted with the even more powerful, formal task of professionally supervising the production of kosher food.

This may be starting to change. For the first time, both the Orthodox Union and Star-K, two large Orthodox kosher agencies, are offering courses for women in the Jewish dietary laws of kashrut this year. Neither course will explicitly train women to be mashgichot, official kosher supervisors, even though there is no religious prohibition against it, and the move has caused some debate and friction within religious circles.

Still, around 25 women came to the New York area in August to attend a five-day advanced course organized by the O.U. that included visits to industrial kosher kitchens and classroom sessions intended to provide "a comprehensive, in-depth overview of the entire kashrut industry, including the home kitchen," said Rabbi Yosef Grossman, education director of the O.U., which is the largest kosher-supervising body in the United States Star-K will offer for the first time a two-day course in the fall "to women who are already in the kashrus field, a chance to enhance their knowledge," said Rabbi Mayer Kurcfeld, Star-K's assistant director of supervision. He said that about 20 percent of Star-K's mashgichot, in local businesses such as restaurants and hospitals, are women. >>> The Jewish Daily Forward | Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Sarah Palin Wig a Hit among Haredi Women
Photo of Sarah Palin courtesy of Google Images
YNET NEWS: Brooklyn wholesaler says its Palin artificial hairpiece has become one of company's most popular items since Alaska governor joined John McCain on Republican ticket

Don't be surprised if you see a few Sarah Palin look-alikes in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods like Brooklyn's Borough Park.

A wig wholesaler there says its Palin wig has become one of the company's most popular items.

Georgie Wigs Vice President Shlomo Klein said Thursday that the company has sold about 50 Palin wigs since the Alaska governor joined John McCain on the Republican ticket.

"It's a very conservative yet fashion-forward look," Klein said. "It can be worn down, it can be worn up. There are a lot of styling options. The bun higher, the bun lower."

Klein's company caters to Orthodox Jewish women who must cover their hair after marriage as well as women who need wigs for medical reasons.

He said he doesn't think it's odd that Jewish women would model themselves on Palin, a devout Christian from a frontier state with very few Jews.

"She's pro-Israel," he noted. >>> Associated press | October 25, 2008

YNET NEWS: Sarah Palin Mesmerizes Israeli Filmmaker

Los Angeles-based director Elan Frank met Alaska's governor, Republican vice-presidential hopeful several months ago while filming documentary about extraordinary women, and was hooked

"Sarah Palin is a very special woman. She has a tranquility about her, no matter what the situation is," this is how Elan Frank, a California-based Israeli filmmaker, chooses to describe the Republican Party's newly chosen vice-presidential hopeful. >>> Dana Zimmerman | September 3, 2008

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