People

Abuse

Sinister ploy by conspiracy theorist filmmaker targets activist and victim of child sexual abuse

Manny Waks, a renowned Jewish activist, gave a moving interview on camera about his experiences as a victim of child sexual abuse. The filmmakers used it to advance a lie about the 770 excavations

People

Menachem Daum, filmmaker who built bridges between religious Jews and non-Jews, dies at 77

During his final months, Daum, known for his films “A Life Apart” and “Hiding and Seeking,” intensified what he called his “anti-anti-goyim crusade”

Haredi Life

Shaindy Bilgrei, a popular Haredi relationship and intimacy counselor, comes under harsh rabbinic ban

Described by some women as having “changed their lives,” Bilgrei’s lectures have now been labeled “crooked guidance from impure sources” by rabbis across the Haredi spectrum

Antisemitism

Hasidic influencer Shloime Zionce gets both hate and cheers for promoting Jewish pride with a fighting spirit

Wearing a sweater showing an arm wrapped in tefillin and a raised fist, the self-described bridge-builder promoted his new line of clothes, with images of Jewish ritual objects fused with militaristic themes

Haredi Life

First, he converted to Judaism. Then, he returned to Christianity. The Haredi reaction to Satchel Bloyd’s story wasn’t pretty

Satchel, Yechiel, Bartimaeus: he went by different names, but former friends said his embrace of Hasidism was genuine — as long as it lasted

Satmar

Personal items of Satmar’s founder fetch thousands of dollars — on eBay and at community fundraisers

A pair of white stockings worn by the late Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum sold for $11,600, and a chance to win a three-word note in his handwriting sold for a $1,800 donation to Satmar schools

Legal

Lakewood philanthropist Moshe Tress arrested for illegally shooting an AR-15 assault rifle

Tress fired the high-powered, semi-automatic weapon near a busy county road, “recklessly” creating “a risk of widespread injury,” according to the arrest warrant

People

Menachem Daum is a ‘Zayde at Risk’

The documentarian behind A Life Apart talks Woodstock, cemeteries, and changing Hasidic attitudes