Free Republic

With summer coming and COVID-19 vaccines being deemed safe for children as young as 12, some camps are talking about the possibility of a mask-free summer for vaccinated campers. But one Jewish camp being planned for the summer is taking a different approach: barring any vaccinated camper or staff from attending at all. Advertisements for Camp Hikon, planned for upstate New York, have recently appeared on email listservs popular in the Orthodox Jewish community. The camp’s announcement also comes as posters encouraging people not to get the COVID-19 vaccines appeared in Midwood, Brooklyn. “We regret that we will be unable...

Yesterday a New York federal district court in United States v. Village of Airmont, (SD NY, March 15, 2021), entered a consent decree requiring modification of the village's zoning code. A press release by the Department of Justice describes the order: [The preliminary injunction mandates] that the Village... immediately cease enforcement of zoning code provisions enacted in 2018 that discriminate against Orthodox Jewish residents in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.... [T]he zoning code provisions at issue limit the amount of space in private homes that can be used as a Residential Place of Worship..., restrict...

You won’t see Ryan Turell knocking down 3-pointers and locking up the opponent’s best player on defense, the way he always does for the nation’s hottest men’s college basketball team, when the NCAA Tournament starts Friday. That’s because Turell plays for Division III Yeshiva University, where the postseason is canceled for the second straight season because of COVID-19, but he is on a quest to become the first Orthodox Jewish player in the modern NBA, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times. Turell has a pride in his faith, much different than when he didn’t want to wear...

Before Shanee Markovitz and Tani Kay get married this May, the couple gathered their close friends together recently to celebrate … their prenup. “I want my friends to see this as a huge part of our wedding. It’s as important as every other piece, if not more,” says Markovitz, 20. “We’re going to announce it at our wedding and put it in our programs, too.” While many prenuptial agreements are kept hush-hush and often seen as unromantic, for this couple — who have been together since they were high-school sophomores — it’s a sign of liberation. And not everyone is...

A baby girl found crawling across a New Jersey road Saturday prompted officials to launch an investigation -- and a photo of the shocking incident has gone viral on social media. The motorist who spotted the child, Cory Cannon of Eatontown, told the Asbury Park Press he spotted the toddler crawling across the road in Lakewood at around 5 p.m. "I thought it was a toy or something until she moved," he told the newspaper. "I knew I needed to get some sort of proof and my GPS was open on my phone, so I used my work vehicle to...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The NYPD is investigating another possible hate crime in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. There have been four attacks against the Orthodox Jewish community in a week — the most recent came late Monday night. As CBS2’s Ilana Gold reported, a 65-year-old man was attacked around 11 p.m. across the street from his home near Wilson Street and Wythe Avenue. A teenage boy and girl ran up to him from behind and started punching him in the face and laughing about it, investigators said...The neighbor said his son heard the victim screaming for help and then the son ran...

Maybe this will be an impetus for American Orthodox Jews to make aliya. There's some real fear going around about the future implications of last week's US Supreme Court decision forcing the states to allow 'gay marriage' and how that might impact Orthodox Jewish institutions. [T]he Orthodox Jewish community has a different view. This was voiced by, among others, the Orthodox Union and the Agudath Israel of America. The latter, in a statement Friday, warned that its members faced “moral opprobrium” and were in danger of “tangible negative consequences” if “they refuse to transgress their beliefs.” To judge by...

To: the New York Times Dear Editors, I am a [choose one: Catholic, Evangelical, Mormon, Orthodox Jewish] conservative, who is well known in the conservative movement as a [choose one: magazine editor, think-tank president, scholar, activist] and public intellectual. Despite my longstanding opposition to [choose one: same-sex marriage, abortion], next week I will be coming out publicly in favor of [choose one: marriage equality, a woman’s right to choose], and was wondering whether you might be interested in informing your readers of this important development in the world of [choose one: Catholic, Evangelical, Mormon, Orthodox Jewish] conservatism. My statement will...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 14, 2011 Mary Beth Hutchins or Elizabeth Ray at 703-683-5004 WEPRIN VOTE FOR GAY MARRIAGE COST HIM SEAT IN CONGRESS Washington –The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today released a “flash” survey conducted yesterday among voters of New York’s 9th Congressional District which demonstrates that David Weprin’s support of same-sex marriage was a major factor in his loss to Republican Bob Turner. “This survey demonstrates what many people have been saying for a long time – David Weprin’s vote in favor of same-sex marriage cost him election to the US House,” said Brian Brown, president of...

Levy Izhak Rosenbaum claimed to be in the business of buying and selling real estate, but he really bought and sold human kidneys for transplant, according to a federal complaint filed Thursday. The 58-year-old Brooklyn man was accused of trafficking in human organs, after a sting by an undercover FBI agent who agreed to pay $160,000 for a kidney from a live Israeli donor for her sick New Jersey "uncle." Investigators said Rosenbaum bragged about doing "quite a lot" of transplants over the last 10 years. "I am what you call a matchmaker," the complaint said the man, also known...

Jewish Rabbi: If Catholic Leaders Rally, Jews and Evangelicals Would Follow “We need bishops and cardinals to be out there, leading the flock” in “moral counterattack” JERUSALEM, January 4, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Wednesday, January 3, LifeSiteNews.com published a press release from Rabbi Yehuda Levin preceding his emergency meeting with Vatican officials. The meeting was to discuss how the Orthodox Jewish community could unite with the Catholic Church to combat the widespread ‘homosexualization’ of the Holy Land and of Western Civilization. Today LifeSiteNews.com interviewed Rabbi Levin in Jerusalem who related in detail what was discussed in the meeting and the proposal...

A rabbi in New Jersey got himself arrested after allegedly getting hot under the collar. But now - also hot under the collar - is the orthodox Jewish community of Lakewood, New Jersey. Rabbi Yosel Bursztyn allegedly scuffled with an officer during a traffic stop, but those in the community claim the officer over reacted. Eyewitness News reporter Marcus Solis has the story. The police union says it had no doubt the officer will be ultimately cleared of using excessive force because part of this dispute was captured by the patrol car's on-board recording system. But that's of little comfort...

Fox News is reporting that a five month old infant was snatched from a stroller and killed in New York state.