Support and criticism have followed Al Jazeera's arrival to New York City. Supporters praise it for its comprehensive coverage but critics claim that the network is anti-Israel. The network was criticized earlier this year for ignoring the Feb. 15 attack and sexual assault on CBS reporter Lara Logan. Although the global media reported the story, Al Jazeera English was silent, even though it had what was arguably the most comprehensive coverage of the uprising.

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Public officials who use their discretionary funds to fund volunteer patrol groups in Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhoods or 'Shomrims' said that they will continue to fund these groups despite the criticism these groups have received.

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Sign of the times: RIP for H&H.

For the first time in New York City's history, the Jewish population has slipped below 1 million people. Combined with the close of several iconic Jewish shops and the rising Asian population, Jewish culture in New York, as we know it, has changed. 

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Mehnaz Afridi, a Pakistan-born Muslim woman, has been named the director of what will be renamed the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan College.

Mehnaz Afridi, 40, a Pakistan-born Muslim woman has been chosen to lead the Holocaust Center at Manhattan College. Critics question the credibility of the college's pick while supporters come to her defense. more>

Rabbi Gil Leeds, right, performs a brit milah (a Jewish religious circumcision ceremony)  in Palo Alto, Calif.

A San Francisco circumcision bill, that would appear on the ballot on November 8 and make the performance of circumcisions on males under 18 illegal, is of serious concern for many in the Jewish community. more>

A second-year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary says her year-in-Israel experience, as part of her academic training, has been "enriching and incredibly painful" in terms of what she sees of Israel's relationship with the Palestinians. more>

Former Hud Secretary Henry Cisneros attended a "Latino Jewish Dialogue" this week in San Antonio

Even before last week's census data showing Latinos have become the largest – and fastest-growing – minority in the United States, Jewish groups were scrambling to beef up relations between the two communities. more>

One of the fastest-growing Jewish areas in New York – which in recent years has seen an influx of thousands of Russian Jews – Staten Island is now getting a central address for all things Jewish.  more>

"We have been the quintessential victims of religious persecution and we know what happens when people are silent," said Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

VIDEO :: Religious leaders Combat 'fear and intolerance' over Islamic center. Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism denounced anti-Muslim Bigotry. more>

A program that brings together Jewish and Arab teens intends to show that there are many ways to look at an issue. Danon said, "We became very good friends at the camp, but then, when it came to discussions about the conflict, we became very angry." more>

VIDEO :: Congressman Michael McMahon says his record of Jewish advocacy speaks for itself, but some voters are still asking questions. NY1's Mari Fagel reports. more>

Many members of the Russian Jewish community at Brighton Beach are angered less by the revelations about a group of ineffectual gumshoes than by the perception that they themselves had managed to escape Russia to start new lives in America, only to find that Russia has followed them here.

VIDEO :: CBS News reports on the fate of the children of Russian agents exchanged in a spy swap and how they are coping with the international scandal. more>

"While surveys for years have pointed to a rising rate of interfaith marriage among American Jews, it's safe to say that Jewish-Muslim relationships are rare," said Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, executive director of the Jewish Outreach Institute. "But that may be changing," he says. more>

Micah is one of a growing number of congregations using technology to address two of the most vexing challenges facing supplemental, or Hebrew, schools: how to teach Hebrew effectively and how to best make use of increasingly limited classroom hours.

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The commissioner of the city's Department for the Aging has disputed a report that elderly recipients of Meals On Wheels have been asked to prove they are Orthodox to qualify for the more expensive kosher food. more>

Governor David Paterson has proposed a $5.4 million cut to the State Office for the Aging. Social service advocates and providers have campaigned against indiscriminate cutting, favoring instead an arrangement where some agencies would be exempt from cuts if they provide essential services. more>

"In polls, people say they know there's something wrong with the health care system. But flash the words 'euthanasia' and 'Nazi' and 'socialism' in front of them, and it taps all this built-up anger and the hunt for scapegoats," said a leading Jewish community relations activist who asked that his name not be used. more>

It's time to stop the legislative game-playing and reject the claims of those who insist that fighting violent bias crimes would somehow abridge their religious freedom.

AUDIO :: WBAI's Esther Armah talks with Michael MacLeod-Ball, interim director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office about the death penalty provision of the new Hate Crimes Bill.

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Muslim community groups, backed nearly unanimously by the City Council, are pressing for days off in honor of two of their holidays; however, Mayor Michael Bloomberg opposes the idea. more>

Jewish families who firmly believe in the value of day school education are now facing virtually insurmountable challenges trying to pay for it.  more>

The anti-Israel tirade by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Duban II could undermine the Obama administration's diplomatic outreach, several Jewish leaders, who attended the conference in Geneva, said this week. more>

Jewish community resorts to a healthy and necessary dialogue when tackling the heated issue of reporting sex predators and the victims to the authorities. more>

 Rabbi Nochem Rosenberg on sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish Community.

It may be small comfort to know that Jewish life is reported on with the same bias as other religious communities, but at least the press is, overall, equal opportunity offenders. more>

L.I. Jewish teen, who tagged himself online as a “Nazi Jew,” drove the SUV the fateful night of Ecuadorean immigrant Lucero’s murder. more>

As one former Jewish official called for a national emergency summit of Jewish leaders to deal with the fallout from the market meltdown, Jewish charities were grappling this week for an appropriate response to a fast-moving crisis few fully understand. more>

As a community, we need to remember the things that unite us, starting with concern for our fellow Jews, many of whom still live in poverty and many more who may unexpectedly find themselves in need as the crisis deepens. more>

How many of us have even heard of the breakaway province of South Ossetia? How many care about events in Tbilisi? But the Jewish community should care. There are Jews scattered across what was once the Soviet Union – including up to 15,000 in Georgia. more>

Forged in the fires of the 1991 Crown Heights riots, Project Care is an ad hoc group of community leaders that has met for more than 15 years to keep open lines of communication. more>

The plight of Patskina and of other residents of the 25-apartment building at 35-45 West End Ave. began early last year when the building was purchased for $4 million by the nearby Mesivta and Yeshiva Gedolah of Manhattan Beach. more>

The most familiar religious voices in politics today normally come from the Christian right, said Rabbi Or Rose, an associate dean at Hebrew College in Boston. But a new campaign led by Rabbi Rose and others aims at changing that dynamic by introducing the language of values and morality to left-wing groups, particularly those in the Jewish community. more>