Kosher Phones For Britain’s Orthodox Jews

Orthodox Jews in Britain aren’t afraid of modernity, but they are worried about the negative influences it can have on young people. Rabbis there have now sanctioned a “kosher” phone that blocks the internet and text messages.

Wall Posters in Ultra-Orthodox Neighborhood

Here is a photo I took of several wall posters in an Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood accusing the Israeli government of trying to wipe out Judaism.

A Vanishing Jewish Community in the Indian State of Kerala

The south Indian state of Kerala is home to one of the oldest synagogues in the world and its Jewish community dates back to ancient times. But over the past several decades, most of Kochi’s Jews have gone to Israel.

Libya’s Jewish Heritage

Libya once had a large Jewish community before it fled persecution starting in the 1940s. One Israeli is trying to preserve Libya’s Jewish cultural relics.

Jerusalem’s holiest of holy sites

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A Palestinian official posted an online article recently that said Jews neither revere nor have rights to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The Obama administration condemned the article and it’s been taken down. But the episode points to a major challenge for any potential peace deal, as The World’s Matthew Bell reports. (Photo: Matthew Bell) Download MP3
Slideshow: The Western Wall

Proposed new guidelines for converting to Judaism

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In the United States, conversions to Judaism can be performed by Orthodox, Conservative or Reform Jews. But in Israel, conversions inside the country are only performed by Orthodox Jews. The World’s Matthew Bell reports that some in Israel, and others outside the country, worry that a bill being considered by the Knesset will give the Orthodox Jewish Establishment the power to recognize, or not, whether those who converted outside of Israel are legally Jewish. Download MP3

Bilingual tots and the language of smell

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We hear from a Jerusalem-based journalist who is sending his kid to Arabic/Hebrew bilingual preschool. Also, a Seattle rabbi visits the Cairo Genizah, and explains why so many sacred Jewish texts were written in Arabic. And we hear from experts at the New York Public Library on the secrets that a book’s smell will reveal to an educated nose. Download MP3

Segregated buses in Israel

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Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community commands a lot of influence. 15 years ago, rabbis lobbied bus companies to establish the country’s first separated line, because they view public mixing of the sexes as immodest. Now, some women in the community are speaking out against gender segregation on buses and have begun a campaign to end it. Daniel Estrin reports from Jerusalem. Download MP3 (Photo: Daniel Estrin)

• Daniel Estrin’s stories on The World

Israel and the Jerusalem issue

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President Obama is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (pictured), for the first time since the current friction over settlements in East Jerusalem began. Netanyahu has asserted Israel’s “right to build” in Jerusalem, saying it was “not a settlement, it’s our capital,” in a speech to the pro-Israel lobby group, AIPAC in Washington. Matthew Bell reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• AIPAC homepage

Jerusalem’s controversial archaeology

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Emotions have been running high in Jerusalem over the al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, which sits on the Haram al-Sharif or Temple Mount, next to the Jewish Western Wall, in Jerusalem’s heavily contested walled Old City. After several weekends of riots by Palestinians over rumors that a Jewish temple will be built there , Israeli police sealed off the West Bank and limited Muslim prayer at the mosque. As Daniel Estrin reports from Jerusalem, the archaeology of the area can be just as explosive. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• On The World: The East Jerusalem issue
• Archaeology and the struggle for Jerusalem

Women of the Wall

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A group called ‘Women of the Wall’ holds monthly prayer meetings at the Western Wall. Recently, a woman was arrested for wearing a prayer shawl and reading the Torah at the Wall. The group is pushing for more women’s religious rights within Orthodox Judaism. And it’s getting some in Israel really angry, as Linda Gradstein reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Women of the Wall homepage

Parking battle in Jerusalem

Correspondent Linda Gradstein reports on tensions between ultra-Orthodox and secular Jewish residents of Jerusalem. One recent flashpoint is a local parking lot. Listen