The queerness of love: A Jewish case for same-sex marriage

Published on January 24, 2013

Last year, I officiated at the first same-sex wedding in the 145-year history of my synagogue. For a Conservative congregation, this was quite a break with tradition.

In Antwerp, a Charedi pariah forces school to go coed

Published on January 8, 2013

With a soft smile and two young boys in tow, a mild-mannered Moshe Aryeh Friedman appeared undeserving of his reputation as the scourge of the local haredi Orthodox community as he walked his sons to school on Monday.

Prenatal whole genome sequencing technology raises Jewish ethical questions

Published on November 21, 2012

Expectant mothers long have faced the choice of finding out the gender of their child while still in the womb.

The Famous Question: Can We or Can’t We Have It All?

By Maya Paley
Published on August 7, 2012

Women in sports: Not an Olympic-size victory

By Maya Paley
Published on July 31, 2012

USDA rescinds guidance on gender separation

Published on July 3, 2012

The U.S. Department of Agriculture rescinded guidance it issued in May that called for an end to gender separation during the administration of federal child nutrition programs.

Facebook acquires Israeli Face.com

Published on June 18, 2012

Facebook acquired an Israeli company that specializes in facial recognition software.

Doctors ordered to pull out of gender-separated conference

Published on January 10, 2012

The Israel Medical Association has barred its member physicians from participating in an infertility conference geared for haredi Orthodox men and women that did not invite female speakers.

Opinion: A spit of death

Published on January 5, 2012

I am sickened to hear the recent reports from Israel concerning eight-year-old Naama Margolese who is afraid to go to school because “orthodox” extremists spat on her and called her a whore for dressing "immodestly."

Netanyahu, Peres deplore gender segregation

Published on December 12, 2011

Israel's prime minister and president came out against efforts by some haredi Orthodox Jews to segregate women in public.

Opinion: Israelis dissatisfied with religious rigidity, gender bias

Published on December 7, 2011

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton caused a storm with her remarks about Israel in a closed session at the Saban Forum in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 2.

Growing gender segregation among Israeli haredim seen as repressing women

Published on November 14, 2011

On the No. 3 bus line in Jerusalem, women passengers pay their fare and walk directly to the back to find a seat.

Gender segregation still OK on Israeli buses, with caveats

Published on January 6, 2011

Gender segregation on Israeli public buses may continue as long as passengers agree, the country's Supreme Court ruled. The practice will still be allowed on dozens of bus lines serving the haredi Orthodox community, known as Mehadrin lines, as long as passengers are not coerced and no violence erupts, according to the ruling issued Thursday. The finding adopted recommendations made last year by a Transportation Ministry committee which found that the Mehadrin lines should be allowed as long as the segregation was voluntary and women were not forced to sit in the back of the bus, Haaretz reported. The state had accepted the finding. The legal opinion was in response to a lawsuit filed in 2007 by a group of women and the Israel Religious Action Center, an organization of Israel's Reform, or Progressive, movement.

Philanthropy from Venus differs from philanthropy from Mars

By Jacob Berkman
Published on November 19, 2008

" . . . Women tend to want to spread the wealth a little more, and a lot of that has to do with how men and women are socializedin terms of their upbringing . . . "

Israeli study: As negotiators, man smart, woman smarter

Published on August 13, 2008

Forget the men when it comes to business negotiations. Women may be more skilled than their masculine counterparts, according to a new study by an Israeli researcher.

Stumbling through my bat mitzvah

By Debra Nussbaum Cohen
Published on January 10, 2008

My bat mitzvah was an unmitigated disaster.

I'd hoped the guests would be as taken as I was with my dress, first high heels and the orange and yellow petit fours at the Kiddush.

Where the Boys Aren’t

By Nancy Sokoler Steiner
Published on January 26, 2006

"Looking at what's happening locally and nationally, we've found that fewer teen boys enroll in informal Jewish activities than they did in previous years," said Lori Harrison Port, senior associate director for planning and allocations at The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

The Court of Cupid

By Lori Gottlieb
Published on February 10, 2005

It seems a bit disingenuous for women to get all bent out of shape over Harvard President Larry Summers' recent suggestion that innate gender differences may account for variances in math and science skills. After all, most women maintain that innate gender differences exist when it comes to other highly valued skills, like communication.

Hear This,  Papa

By Gaby Wenig
Published on January 30, 2003

In "Yentl's Revenge," an anthology of Jewish feminist writings, the editor, Danya Ruttenberg, puts forward a call for a transgendered approach to Judaism.

A statement by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Melchior

By Michael Melchior
Published on September 6, 2001

The following is excerpted from a statement by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Melchior, read Monday at the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, by Ambassador Mordecai Yedid, the head of the Israeli delegation.

Raising Boys

By Jane Ulman
Published on June 22, 2000

This past year, Toys R Us was excoriated for proposing and, in some instances, constructing separate "Boys World" and "Girls World" sections. But public outrage quickly forced the 707-store retailer to abandon this gender-based marketing concept, which it euphemistically referred to as "logical adjacencies."Twenty years ago, I would have vehemently condemned Toys R Us' discriminatory actions, perhaps even joining the ranks of the politically correct protesters. Girls, I would have argued, have as much right to play with a Tonka truck as boys with a Little Tikes vacuum cleaner. And not only a right, a need.Twenty years ago, I was single, childless and clueless.