Orthodox sales pitch entices homebuyers

Succah roofs, kosher kitchens and Israeli-style handwashing basins are features of an 80-unit housing development, for which a planning application is under consideration by Salford City Council.

The application by Countryside Properties has found favour with Salford's strictly Orthodox population.

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Housing body wins planning battle against Hackney Council

A strictly Orthodox Housing Association has won a battle against Hackney Council to build 13 new homes in Stamford Hill.

Agudas Israel's chief executive Ita Symons said they had plans turned down twice by Hackney councillors to develop the site of the former Persian Synagogue. Construction on 13 new family homes will begin in East Bank, behind Ajex House, in January.

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Barnet Orthodox get home comfort

Part of a new Golders Green development has been designated for the growing strictly Orthodox population of Barnet.

The deal for the West Heath Place, Finchley Road, properties was struck by the Agudas Israel Housing Association with Albany Homes.

Housing association chief executive Ita Symons said: "There will be a mix of shared ownership and rented flats for families from Barnet who need a

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Well-groomed wedding date

American Steve Greenberg made history a decade ago when he came out as the first openly gay, Orthodox rabbi.

Now he has just become the first Orthodox rabbi to conduct a same-sex marriage.

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Boris Johnson's bid to keep Charedim fitter

Strictly Orthodox Jews are being encouraged to take up kayaking, football and a range of fitness activities as part of a new scheme aimed at making the community healthier.

Charedi communities have set up sports groups and exercise sessions through the Maccabi GB Enable Project, which uses funding from Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

Around £12,000 has been awarded so far, with 500 people do

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Brooklyn women fight to join Orthodox ambulance service

A group of Orthodox women in the Borough Park area of New York have sparked a debate in the community after they asked to be allowed to join a men-only Jewish volunteer ambulance service.

The women said they wanted to be involved in Hatzalah's operations, in order to help women going into labour or facing other emergencies.

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Businessman takes Beth Din order to High Court

The High Court in London is being asked to enforce the decision of the Beth Din, the court which decides civil or religious issues among Orthodox Jews.

The Beth Din awarded Gateshead businessman Jerry Fried more than £1 million in December 2009, when it ordered company director David Zadok Baumgarten to pay Mr Fried £920,550.43. Mr Fried is also seeking interest of £109,558.11.

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Orthodox feud goes to court

A High Court case opened on Wednesday involving a bitter feud between members of a London Orthodox family over the assets of a once flourishing property enterprise.

Joseph Ackerman is taking action against his sister-in-law Naomi Ackerman, and her son Barry Ackerman.

Joseph and his brother Jack built up a successful property business and a charity, Delapage, to aid Orthodox Jewish education

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Warning over religious coercion in IDF sparks anger

A petition signed by 19 former generals cautioning against religious coercion in the IDF is causing uproar in the army.

The petition follows series of flashpoints involving religious soldiers.

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What are the Orthodox afraid of?

It would be easy for those of us who belong to the Orthodox community to be angry at the furore surrounding the Big Tent.

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Brooklyn's gender-separated bus to change its policy

A bus service that required male and female passengers to sit separately for religious reasons will no longer operate under that arrangement.

It emerged last week that women who took the B110 bus through a part of Brooklyn that is home to high numbers of Chasidic Jews were being told to sit at the back of the vehicle.

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'Orthodox now control Jerusalem'

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has fired a city council member for petitioning Israel's High Court of Justice against gender segregation in the Mea Shearim area of the city and winning a ruling prohibiting the practice.

On Sunday, the court ruled against the gender segregation of pavements and streets in the heavily Orthodox Mea Shearim.

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LSJS honours loyal backers

Nearly a decade ago, one of British Jewry's oldest educational institutions appeared to be on its last legs.

The London School of Jewish Studies, founded as Jews' College in 1855 to produce ministers for central Orthodox synagogues, was fast running out of money.

But it has not only managed to reinvent itself as a thriving adult education centre.

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Israeli orchestra cuts women from concert line-up

A concert featuring three Israeli performers has been removed from an Ashdod orchestra's schedule after religious audience members objected to its inclusion.

The Israel Prize-winning Andalusian Orchestra, which specialises in Sephardic music, originally planned to feature the three women in one concert of its January series.

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