Michele Chabin
Michele Chabin is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Michele Chabin
Orthodox and secular Jews fight over shaping Jerusalem’s character
By Michele Chabin — September 13, 2015
JERUSALEM – Haredi Jews, who hold more than a third of the city council seats and wield strong political clout in its coalition government, say being open on the Sabbath destroys the sanctity of the day of rest.
Israeli Christian schools strike to protest cuts in public funding
By Michele Chabin — September 8, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) Thousands of parents, students and teachers demonstrated opposite the prime minister's office to demand the same level of funding the government provides to two ultra-Orthodox Jewish school networks.
American ideals draw U.S. citizens to settle in Israel’s West Bank
By Michele Chabin — September 4, 2015
EFRAT, West Bank —Some 60,000 U.S.-born West Bank settlers says they believe Jews should have the right to live wherever they want in the Holy Land. "To them, this is a deeply American vision,” says one historian.
Some Israelis hope to be recognized as Jews through alternative courts
By Michele Chabin — August 21, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) A group of modern Orthodox rabbis established a more welcoming conversion court to serve the 350,000 non-Jewish Russian immigrants and their descendants who consider themselves Jewish, but are not recognized as such by the Israeli government.
Jewish extremist poses threat to Holy Land Christians, church body says
By Michele Chabin — August 10, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) In a letter sent to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein on Sunday (Aug. 9), the Custody of the Holy Land said Benzi Gopstein, head of the Jewish extremist group Lehava, poses a threat to Holy Land Christians.
Arab parliament member denies Jewish claim to Temple Mount, sparking Israeli outrage
By Michele Chabin — July 27, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) The remarks by Parliament member Masud Ganaim of the Joint (Arab) List political party came a day after clashes between masked Muslim rioters and Israeli police marred the holy Jewish fast day of Tisha B'Av.
U.S. Jewish groups join recovery effort after Israeli church arson attack
By Michele Chabin — July 17, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee have each donated funds to the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes after an arson attack.
Critics decry Israeli cabinet vote rejecting measure to ease Jewish conversion
By Michele Chabin — July 6, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) Israeli rights activists say the decision by Israel's cabinet Sunday to nix the establishment of local conversion courts is a blow to religious freedom.
What one Israeli couple found while undergoing a home renovation
By Michele Chabin — July 1, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) The discovery lends weight to what some archaeologists have long suspected: that a Jewish community existed in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood during the time when Jesus lived.
Hobby Lobby’s Steve Green’s Bible curriculum is a hit in Israeli schools
By Michele Chabin — June 15, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) The Israeli pilot program, known as TAMAR represents the Museum of the Bible's first successful educational program. Last year, an Oklahoma school district shelved a similar pilot curriculum.
Conservative Jews furious with Israeli president over scrapped bar mitzvah service
By Michele Chabin — June 8, 2015
(RNS) Conservative Jews, called Masorti Jews in Israel, say President Reuven Rivlin's decision amounts to a de-legitimization of non-Orthodox Jewry.
Israeli soldier’s ham sandwich nearly lands him in military prison
By Michele Chabin — June 2, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) In a rare apology, IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz wrote on Facebook: “We were wrong. The IDF will continue to keep kosher on the one hand, but will not probe a soldier's sandwich on the other."
Vatican decision to recognize Palestine upsets Israeli government, Jewish advocacy groups
By Michele Chabin — May 13, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) Israel's Foreign Ministry representative said the government was “disappointed by the decision."
US and Israeli Jews learn how to purify the dead
By Michele Chabin — May 8, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) The workshop on ritual purification of the body was part of an 18-day Israel-American study mission on Jewish burial practices and other aspects of death and dying.
Women of the Wall pluck Torah scroll across partition to women’s section
By Michele Chabin — April 21, 2015
JERUSALEM (RNS) Once the men's service concluded, a female WOW activist stepped into the men's section, grabbed the Torah and took it into the women's section.
