Articles written by Rabbi Avi Shafran
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Why an Orthodox group supports the Supreme Court ruling on not serving same-sex couples
(JTA) — The Orthodox Jewish community boasts a wide array of creative services providers. And, in keeping with the Jewish religious tradition over millennia, those vendors cannot, in good conscience, buy into elements of “progressive” social devel...
Why an Orthodox Jewish organization welcomed the end of Roe v. Wade
(JTA) — Agudath Israel of America, the national Orthodox Jewish organization for which I work, welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. Predictably, we were immediately cast into an “enemy” or “ally” box, depending on who was doi...
Critical Race Leery
“We recognize there are not two sides of the Holocaust.” So spoke Texas school superintendent Lane Ledbetter, apologizing for North Texas school administrator Gina Peddy’s remark, surreptitiously recorded by someone among a group of teachers, that th...
Violence against Jews is reprehensible-but isolated attacks distract us from the bigger threats
NEW YORK (JTA)—Although it hasn’t yet been determined whether the brutal stabbing of a young father on his way to morning prayers in Ramapo, New York, was a an anti-Jewish hate crime, it was described by the local police chief as a “vicious, viole...
What the Pew report got wrong about religious restrictions
NEW YORK (JTA)—A recently released Pew Research Center report about global restrictions on religion focuses mostly on discrimination against, and the persecution of, various religious groups in different countries. Jews are prominent targets as a...
In Judaism, abortion is not a right-and pregnancy is a responsibility
NEW YORK (JTA)—As in all life matters, when it comes to abortion, Judaism doesn’t speak of rights but of responsibilities and obligations. Seeing things through that lens can be a real eye opener. The concept of “rights” is deeply ingrained in our...
