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From streamed baptisms to the impossibility of hajj, it’s been a tricky time for religious people to stay observant. But many have some holy hacksWell before places of worship were closed during the first lockdown, we hectored my father to remain indoors and stay safe. He rebelled. One frigid Sunday last March, through the silence of a sleeping household, he slunk down the hall...

The late film-maker Joan Micklin Silver exploded the cliches of modern romances. If only others would do the sameThe director Joan Micklin Silver, who died last week, was – to use the kind of cliche she abhorred – a pioneer. She was a female director at a time when studio executives were more than comfortable with being openly sexist, telling Silver: “Women directors are...

Benjamin Netanyahu greets arrivals as part of pledge to bring all Ethiopians of Jewish lineage to IsraelHundreds of Ethiopian immigrants on Thursday arrived at a festive ceremony at Israel’s international airport, as the Israeli government took a step towards carrying out its pledge to reunite hundreds of families split between the two countries.Some 300 people landed on the Ethiopian Airlines flight, with many waving...

Soviet Union’s collapse may be responsible for exodus from eastern EuropeEurope has lost almost 60% of its Jewish population over the past 50 years, mainly as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union after which many Jews left eastern Europe as borders opened, a study shows.Only about 9% of the global Jewish population now lives in Europe, compared with nearly 90% in...

Sombre Yom Kippur provides only a temporary pause to debate about tighter lockdownCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIsraeli politicians are considering whether to tighten an already paralysing second coronavirus lockdown by bringing in controversial measures to limit people’s ability to protest and pray together.Life in the country of 9 million ground to a halt on Sunday night and into Monday for Yom...

Coronavirus bans have forced Jewish communities to adapt and innovate as the year’s high holy days draw nearCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageRochelle Shorrick’s freezer would normally be filled well in advance with meals for extended family and friends over the Jewish high holy days of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, and Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.Usually she bakes a...

New law hailed as justice for families of refugees – and could benefit thousands of BritonsTens of thousands of British citizens are among the many descendants of Jewish refugees who can apply for Austrian citizenship from Tuesday under a new law that campaigners say finally delivers a measure of historic justice for their ancestors’ expulsions under Nazi rule.About 120,000 Jewish refugees fled persecution after...

Melanie Wolfson was asked to move twice because men refused to sit next to a female A British-Israeli woman is suing easyJet after the low-cost airline asked her to move seats on a flight from Tel Aviv to London following objections from strictly-Orthodox Jewish men who refused to sit next to a female passenger.Melanie Wolfson, 38, is claiming 66,438 shekels (almost £15,000) compensation in...

Diaries and manuscripts turn spotlight on little-known acts of endurance and braveryFrom quiet acts of bravery, to overt acts of rebellion, Jewish resistance to the Holocaust took many forms, yet research shows they remain largely unacknowledged in traditional UK teachings about the genocide.A new exhibition, drawing on thousands of previously unseen documents and manuscripts, is placing some of the little-known personal stories of heroism,...

New centre in Greek city will be lifeline for Sephardic Jews, mostly descendants of Spanish exilesFive centuries after they were expelled from Spain and eight decades after they were almost annihilated in the Holocaust, the small community of Sephardic Jews that lives on in the Greek city of Thessaloniki is looking to its past to help safeguard its future.On Tuesday, Thessaloniki’s Jewish community signed...

Ephraim Mirvis joins 48-hour boycott after grime musician Wiley’s antisemitic tiradeThe UK’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, has accused Facebook and Twitter of complicity in antisemitism through inaction as he urged both platforms to do more to tackle hate speech after an antisemitic tirade last week from the grime musician Wiley.In a letter to the technology companies’ chief executives, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Jack...

Campaign group asks police to investigate rapper’s posts likening Jews to Ku Klux KlanThe grime artist Wiley has been dropped by his management company and was temporarily banned from posting on Twitter after posting a tirade of antisemitic comments on the site.The musician’s manager, John Woolf, said A-List Management had “cut all ties” with Wiley after a series of social media posts were made...

Archaeologists say find at Israeli excavation offers first proof of mind-altering substances being used in JudaismIsraeli archaeologists say they’ve found cannabis residue on artefacts from an ancient temple in southern Israel providing the first evidence of the use of hallucinogenics in the ancient Jewish religion.In a research paper, the authors say the discovery from an eighth-century BC shrine at Tel Arad offers the first...

Angela Merkel to meet with state leaders over safely conducting services during pandemic Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageGermany is to set out guidelines for religious services during the coronavirus pandemic with a list of strict restrictions expected to include a ban on singing.Religious services have been legally banned from taking place since the start of Germany’s lockdown in mid-March and some...

Bill de Blasio expresses regret for tweet after intervening when hundreds gathered for a funeral for a rabbi who died of Covid-19: ‘I spoke out of distress’New York City’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, personally oversaw the dispersal of a large, tightly packed Hasidic Jewish funeral on Wednesday, lashing out at the conduct of mourners, sparking angry counter-criticism from community leaders.In a tweet, the mayor...

Anglican vicars are not the only spiritual guides fighting curbs imposed on worship, with many flouting their government’s rules as more people seek solace in religionCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMembers of the Church of England are not noted for their resistance to authority. But during Holy Week, the most significant time in the Christian calendar, its leaders have faced mounting objections...

My experience on the Sultan’s trail found that two Christians, two Muslims, a Jew and two atheists could live peaceably together, although the mountain scenery seems a lifetime away nowBack in early autumn I went on a pilgrimage from Belgrade to Istanbul with six others to film a television programme that airs on Friday. At the best of times, the mountains of Bulgaria would...

World leaders have gathered to hear the stories of Holocaust survivors 75 years after the liberation of the death camp. Batsheva Dagan, Stanisław Zalewski and Marian Turski shared their experiences of life inside Auschwitz and warned that it could happen again if minority rights are not protected Survivors call for end to world indifference at Auschwitz memorial Continue reading...