The space available to be Jewish is shrinking rapidly. Ironically, it’s both pro and anti-Zionist positions that are making Judaism look so minuscule. Jewish students on Britain’s campuses now feel they have to choose between their Jewish identity and supporting the National Union of Students. The dilemma has been brought to a head by the election of Malia Bouattia as NUS President and her well-reported anti-Zionist opinions. Our Jewish students can’t work out why their minority rights (when defined in... Read more

Too often I see those in solidarity with Palestinians lose the plot and allow opponents to grab the agenda and deflect attention from where the suffering really exists. That’s exactly what’s been happening in Britain this week as a row over antisemitism in the Labour Party has dominated the news. My initial reaction to Naz Shah and Ken Livingstone was sympathetic. The whole thing felt hyped up, out of all proportion and part of the ongoing attempts to undermine Jeremy... Read more

Celebrating Passover can be tricky for us awkward Jews. Liberation and freedom have become the ‘Passover Problematic’ for the in-house critics of Judaism in the 21st century. I’m thinking of Jews like me (growing in number each year) who insist that Zionism as the route to Jewish self-determination has turned out to be a bitter disappointment. Jews like me who think our movement of political nationalism has created nothing but salt water because it comes at the expense of another... Read more

It’s shocking. But that’s the point. You’re not supposed to do this. But he has. Songwriters have creative licence but has Leon Rosselson gone too far? A Nazi soldier smashes the head of Rivka, a seven year old girl wearing her new red dress in the Vilna ghetto in 1942. An Israeli soldier fires a shell onto a Gaza beach and kills Mohammed, an eleven year old boy playing football with his cousins in 2014. In the songwriter’s dream, Mohammed... Read more

For Holocaust Memorial Day 27 January 2016    “In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.” – Anne Frank Dear Anne, What would you make of it all? Would you be surprised at what has happened to the Jewish people since your death and how the Jewish story is unfolding in the 21st century? Would you be shocked at how we have misused the memory of the Holocaust? Would you be dismayed at... Read more

This week a pro-Israel rally due to take place in Manchester in the north of England at the end of this month was abruptly called off after the venue cancelled the booking. The organisers of No to Terror, Stand with Israel, a relatively new group called North West Friends of Israel (NWFOI), is crying ‘foul’ and blaming the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement for putting pressure on the hotel. At the time of writing, the Sheridan Suite in Manchester is yet... Read more