Michele Chabin
Michele Chabin is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Michele Chabin
Exhibition in Jerusalem challenges perceptions of modestly dressed women
By Michele Chabin — September 6, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — Featuring women from different cultures, the multimedia investigation of modest dress shows that the common denominator is a thirst for spiritual meaning.
App for the blind is the latest in Jerusalem’s effort to make holy sites accessible
By Michele Chabin — June 11, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — In recent months, pedestrian walkways through the oldest parts of the city have been reworked to make them wheelchair-accessible, and new technology is bringing holy sites to life for everyone.
Jerusalem pride parade draws thousands, guarded by police
By Michele Chabin — June 6, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — Jerusalem's parade draws thousands of LGBTQ Israelis and their allies, to an event guarded by thousands of police. Unlike in Tel Aviv, known as one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the world, Jerusalem's residents aren't always welcoming. Its pride parade has sparked controversy and, in at least one case, violence, in the past.
Latino evangelical leaders meet in Jerusalem for summit on Israel
By Michele Chabin — May 24, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — Latino evangelical leaders from the United States recently met at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to celebrate its move there.
Israeli health advocate pens prayer to encourage vaccination
By Michele Chabin — May 17, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — A concerned Jewish healthcare worker has composed a prayer to be said before vaccinations are given. She hopes the prayer, which has been posted in some well-baby clinics, will help ease the minds of parents whose children are being vaccinated.
Close vote in Israel extends tiny ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties’ outsized sway
By Michele Chabin — April 11, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — Besides its effect on the everyday lives of Jewish Israelis, the influence of haredi parties promises to exacerbate tensions between the Israeli government and non-Orthodox Diaspora Jews.
Rabbis express concern about excesses of Purim celebrations
By Michele Chabin — March 19, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — For many Jews, the holiday of Purim has become too commercialized, and alcohol, according to one rabbi, 'has become the star of the holiday.'
Women wearing tefillin cause a stir in Jerusalem
By Michele Chabin — February 15, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) – Women of the Wall is part of an annual campaign spearheaded by American Conservative Jews to encourage women, as well as men, to wear phylacteries during prayer.
As survivors age, Holocaust educators rush to preserve their irreplaceable testimony
By Michele Chabin — January 24, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — The race against time has prompted a program to take survivors back to their hometowns in Europe to film their recollections of the places where they experienced the catastrophe most acutely.
Greek Orthodox Church faces Israeli homeowners’ ire after land sales
By Michele Chabin — January 15, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — The secretive sale by the church, the country's second largest landowner, to a group of investors has outraged residents and church members alike.
Israeli Christians protest artwork depicting Ronald McDonald as ‘McJesus’
By Michele Chabin — January 14, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — The controversy has raised questions about the limits of artistic freedom in Israel, which prides itself on being both a progressive country and the home to holy sites of three world religions.
Airbnb accused of anti-Semitism for delisting West Bank properties
By Michele Chabin — November 27, 2018
JERUSALEM (RNS) — Palestinians and their supporters insist that the ban has nothing to do with anti-Semitism and everything to do with justice.
Jerusalem mayoral race exposes religious-secular rift
By Michele Chabin — November 12, 2018
JERUSALEM (RNS) — A fight over nightclub closures on the sabbath represents a larger tug-of-war over whose values will prevail — the ultra-Orthodox Jews' or those of their more mainstream Jewish neighbors.
Israeli court fines ultra-Orthodox radio station for banning women from the air
By Michele Chabin — September 21, 2018
JERUSALEM (RNS) — After a lawsuit was filed, the station began permitting women to speak during limited hours, "and only on stereotypically female topics like recipes or education,” said an activist.
The case for gender-segregated beaches
By Michele Chabin — June 29, 2018
(RNS) — News that New York City Councilman Chaim Deutsch has rented a city-owned Brooklyn beach for separate male and female swim days is creating excitement among devout Muslims and Orthodox Jews, but critics say the practice amounts to gender discrimination.
