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"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
- Scott Pelley and the End of the Network-News Tradition
- Eric Schulzke: A Life Across the Academy, the Newsroom, and the Prison Gate
- Rob Stutzman: A Life in the California Political Trade
- Catherine Seipp and the Network That Replaced the Newsroom
- NYT: ‘Why Does No One Care About the World Cup This Year?’
- Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists
- Autumn Gold: Secrecy, Time, and the Recovery of Truth
- Eric Longabardi: An Investigative Journalist Between Two Media Orders
- Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas
- The Workplace City: John L. Smith and the Lives Behind Las Vegas
- The Man on the Floor: Peter Berg and the Cinema of Competence
- Who Governs: The Work of Taylor Sheridan
- Ben Mezrich: Mythographer of Disruption
- The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility
- Carl von Clausewitz: An Intellectual Biography
- The Translator: David Klinghoffer and the Argument Against Materialism
- The Norm Explainers
- Show Me How It Travels
- The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth
- Richard B. Spencer: The Man Who Branded the Alt-Right
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* American Epistemics (1-19-26)
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* If Tatiana Schlossberg were “Tatiana Smith” (12-30-25)
* ‘I’m So Trained’: How The Credential Society Burned Down the Palisades (12-28-25)
* Status Closure and The Lost Generation (12-25-25)
* The Bondi Massacre (12-15-25)
* Sydney Jews Learn That Their Aussie Social Contract Has Become A Suicide Pact (12-15-25)
* Terror in Sydney: Analyzing the “Chanukah by the Sea” Massacre (12-14-25)
* Decoding Nick Fuentes (11-2-25)
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* No Kings, No Results: How Elite Pride Replaced Real Progress (10-19-25)
* You Are An Important Soldier In A Great War (9-7-25)
* The Revolt Of The Masses (8-31-25)
* The Covenant of Ashwood (8-24-25)
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* Why Is The Elite Media Singing From The Same Hymnal About The Trump-Putin Summit? (8-17-25)
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Category Archives: Haredi
Haaretz: From Bar Refaeli’s Torah Lessons to Paparazzi Shots of Rabbis: The ultra-Orthodox Love Affair With Gossip
From Haaretz: It was in the Shleikes Jewish food restaurant in Bnei Brak that I got the definitive proof of how gossip has conquered the ultra-Orthodox public. I had arrived for a joint interview with journalist Itzik Ohana, whose specialty … Continue reading
NYT: Do Children Get a Subpar Education in Yeshivas? New York Says It Will Finally Find Out
I suspect the reactions of most yeshivos will be to try to cheat the system. Dennis Prager remembers that when he taught at Brooklyn College, teachers found that yeshiva kids were more likely to cheat than other kids. From the … Continue reading
Hasidim Don’t Tell You How To Change Your Jewish Practice
In his part one lecture on the Ben Ish Chai for Torah in Motion, Marc Shapiro says: “Anyone over 30 knows how different things are today than when we were growing up… We are accustomed to thinking that this sort … Continue reading
Who Is The Most Highly Regarded Haredi Torah Scholar?
Marc B. Shapiro, history professor, writes: …opponents of R. Steinman have been very harsh in their evaluation of him, and a steady stream of publications has appeared designed to show that his views are not in line with the haredi … Continue reading
Your Moral Code
I find slavery abhorrent but who cares about my feelings. I get my values from Judaism. The Torah (both in its written and oral forms) allowed slavery. From the Orthodox Jewish perspective, the Torah comes from God. So if I … Continue reading
Why Do Jewish Leaders Keep Ignoring Ultra-Orthodox Education Crisis?
Forward: The New York State Legislature is currently considering two bills, one introduced by Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee in early May , the other by Sen. David Carlucci and Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski in January , to strengthen existing legislation requiring nonpublic … Continue reading
Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss Condemns Zionism at UC Irvine
There’s nothing sinister about Haredi (traditional Orthodox) Jews who do not support the modern secular state of Israel. They are being consistent with their understanding of Judaism. Prior to WWII, most Jews were not Zionist aka were not pushing for … Continue reading
Haaretz: A Screenwriter, a Hasidic Mother of Seven, and a Sex Poet
From Haaretz: Marilyn Wennig, 36, uniquely combines the two estranged worlds of an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle with secular Israeli film and literature. A day after Marilyn Wennig was interviewed on Channel 2’s late night news show about the Oscars, she asked … Continue reading
Will Israel Survive Going Haredi?
From Ruth Marcus in 2012: “We’re verging on a trajectory of Israel slipping toward a third-world economy, and a third-world economy can’t sustain a first-world military,” says Yohanan Plesner, a Kadima member who chaired a committee to rewrite the exemption. … Continue reading
Why Some Hasidic Jews Are Loving Donald Trump’s Campaign
VICE: Chaim Schlaff was born and raised in a Hasidic Jewish community in London. He now lives in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, and describes himself as a “proud legal immigrant.” He is also an enthusiastic Donald Trump … Continue reading