Free Republic

A flagship liberal Orthodox synagogue in New York will stop congratulating same-sex couples on their weddings following a complaint by the Orthodox Union. The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in the Bronx will no longer announce the weddings of its LGBT members in its newsletters in accordance with a policy dictated by the OU, the largest association of Orthodox synagogues in the United States. The policy was set out this month in response to complaints from other member synagogues, which take a harder line on opposing same-sex marriage. Orthodox Jewish law, or halacha, prohibits same-sex marriage, and Orthodox rabbis are not...

OU Announces Aliyah Fund Drive With the goal of assisting hundreds of families to make aliyah this summer, the Orthodox Union (OU) in the United States is calling on its member synagogues across the United States and Canada to conduct fund-raising campaigns in support of a Jerusalem-based foundation dedicated to bringing North American Jews home to Israel. The drive will culminate on May 7, Israeli Independence Day. The beneficiary organization, Nefesh B'Nefesh (Jewish Souls United), was founded to revitalize aliyah from North America through financial support and other assistance to new immigrants. In July, 2002, its first year of...