Avi Shafran
Avi Shafran is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Avi Shafran
My evangelical Sukkot saviors
By Avi Shafran — October 9, 2022
(RNS) — Every year as the Jewish holiday comes around, I remember Anthony.
What The New York Times’ story on Hasidic schools misses
By Avi Shafran — September 13, 2022
(RNS) — The vast majority of Hasidic parents and students cherish the education offered by their yeshivas.
Expansions on euthanasia should be sounding alarm bells for us all
By Avi Shafran — July 27, 2022
(RNS) — ‘In our utilitarian and utopian zeal, the right to die today may become the duty to die tomorrow,’ warns Toronto physician Mark D’Souza.
Abortion is not a ‘Jewish value’ for all Jews
By Avi Shafran — July 13, 2022
(RNS) — The media has deposited in the public sphere that all of Judaism embraces ‘abortion rights.’
The church-state divide, never a wall, isn’t about to fall
By Avi Shafran — June 29, 2022
(RNS) — The court long ago made clear the line of separation ‘is a blurred, indistinct, and variable barrier.’
The Jewish way to celebrate Jerusalem Day
By Avi Shafran — June 1, 2022
(RNS) — We are enjoined by our Jewish faith not to goad or incite other peoples or religions.
Disinviting Alice Walker is not cancel culture
By Avi Shafran — April 4, 2022
(RNS) — We cannot shrug at antisemitic conspiracy theories — especially coming from a celebrated human rights advocate.
The joys and ironies of Purim echo through history
By Avi Shafran — March 16, 2022
(RNS) — On Purim, Jews celebrate having overcoming their darkest hours.
We should hire Deborah Lipstadt to combat antisemitism, not punish her for doing so
By Avi Shafran — January 19, 2022
(RNS) — Congress appears to be holding up an antisemitism watchdog’s confirmation for pointing out antisemitism.
What to give your Jewish neighbors for Christmas
By Avi Shafran — December 16, 2021
(RNS) — Fighting antisemitism starts with the people you live and work with.
Why Jewish ritual slaughter bans are unnecessary — and harmful to Jewish life
By Avi Shafran — November 4, 2021
(RNS) — Greece’s interference with ritual butchering methods could decimate its already small Jewish population.
Sukkot is the Jewish holiday that teaches us the joys of doing without
By Avi Shafran — September 20, 2021
(RNS) — Living in a hut teaches us that what we really have is not what we own, but what we are.
‘Insular’ Orthodox Jews mobilize to save lives, from Haiti to Kabul
By Avi Shafran — September 1, 2021
(RNS) — Recent disasters have shown a lesser-known side of Haredi Jews.
Alta Fixsler, 2-year-old on life support, has a visa to come to US for treatment. Will UK court let her go?
By Avi Shafran — July 29, 2021
(RNS) — The case, reduced to its essence, pits current medical opinion against Alta’s parents' Hasidic Jewish faith.
Netflix’s ‘My Unorthodox Life’ is an exposé that fails to explain some basic facts
By Avi Shafran — July 14, 2021
(RNS) — Fashion triumphs over fundamentalism. What could be more inspiring?
