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Mati Wagner

Mati Wagner

The Times of Israel

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Till death do them part: After top rabbi dies, power struggle blazes at elite Haredi yeshiva

Till death do them part: After top rabbi dies, power struggle blazes at elite Haredi yeshiva

A sacrilegious tug-of-war over the body of a brilliant Talmud scholar and firebrand as he was being brought to rest has unleashed a new bout of...

08.01.2025 40

The Times of Israel

Mati Wagner

Thousands are flocking to the grave of a Haredi leader. His former aide says he’d hate it

On the anniversary of Rabbi Elazar Shach’s death, his burial place has become a prayer hub as adherents turn it into a venue to blast newly...

20.11.2024 3

The Times of Israel

Mati Wagner

Ultra-Orthodox-backed Kalman Ber chosen as Ashkenazi chief rabbi in runoff

Top Netanya cleric beats out Rabbi Micha Halevi, who drew anger from religious Zionists by reneging on promise to stay out of race, after initial...

01.11.2024 2

The Times of Israel

Mati Wagner

Despite record post-Oct. 7 antisemitism, European Jews are out and proud this Sukkot

From Milan to Warsaw, Jewish communities are building huts and brandishing the four species as usual — with a little bit of extra protection

17.10.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Mati Wagner

Haifa court rules divorce refusal is a crime, sentences husband to 18 months in prison

Man is 2nd to be sentenced to prison for refusing to give his wife a ‘get,’ after trapping her in marriage since 2004; rabbinic courts in US,...

16.10.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Mati Wagner

New top Sephardic rabbi backs rulings that soldiers in combat must eat on Yom Kippur

Seeking to allay concerns of ultra-Orthodox troops in Gaza, David Yosef notes existing protocols barring them from fasting, says when in doubt they...

11.10.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Mati Wagner

On anniversary of 1970 Black September hijacking, six survivors on life after captivity

As Hamas continues to hold 97 hostages kidnapped on October 7, marking the September 6 PFLP terror group’s takeover of four planes paints new...

07.09.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Mati Wagner