Jewish News blog

We must not accept the normalisation of extremism

Let us imagine that a group of radical Islamic terrorists from Northern Iraq had managed to enter Europe and were shot as they tried to engage in an terrorist attack on civilians in London. Now imagine a circle of Muslims in Parliament Square saying prayers for them. What would be the reaction? Okay, I get that if a few Muslims were saying prayers for Islamic … Continue reading We must not accept the normalisation of extremism

Parliament Sq, fighting back

The Parliament Square Kaddish. We have to fight back

The blog on the Parliament Square Kaddish event was the hardest I have ever had to write. My research has taken me into some of the darkest anti-Jewish movements on the internet. I have got up close and personal with neo-Nazis, Rothschild conspiracy theorists and Holocaust deniers. I have worn a Kaffiyeh, walked with the Hezbollah and broken bread with people who think Jews are … Continue reading The Parliament Square Kaddish. We have to fight back

Kaddish for terrorists

The day that Jewish people said Kaddish for Palestinian terrorists

Have you heard the one about the Jewish activists who said Kaddish for Palestinian terrorists? The story starts in November 2015 during the ‘stabbing intifada‘ that saw a wave of stabbing attacks by Palestinians against Israelis. British students honoured Palestinian terrorists who died whilst killing or trying to kill Israelis. The great invasion Fast forward to May 2018. The Hamas are weak and facing unrest … Continue reading The day that Jewish people said Kaddish for Palestinian terrorists

Gaza, Hamas and why I won’t be criticising Israel today

One of the reasons I won’t be criticising Israel today is because I am in London. I am not facing 40,000 rioters sent by Hamas to the Israeli border. Instead I am safely tucked away in a relatively secure part of the globe, with the armies of British enemies pushed back through centuries of brutal conflict. Even in the last two decades many have died … Continue reading Gaza, Hamas and why I won’t be criticising Israel today

Banksy Hotel Bethlehem

Banksy West Bank Bethlehem Hotel review: An antisemitic sham

The post will be about my recent visit to the Banksy hotel and the historical distortion and antisemitic imagery that was on show there, but first a little background.  I recently spent a few days in Israel as part of a delegation led and facilitated by the Zionist Federation. It was a small group, led by Arieh Miller (ZF) and included representatives from Sussex Friends … Continue reading Banksy West Bank Bethlehem Hotel review: An antisemitic sham

Momentum antisemitism

The Corbyn v Jews chess match. Gaining time by doing nothing

Yesterday there was a meeting between the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), Board of Deputies (BOD), and Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the UK Labour Party. The Jewish organisations reported that the meeting had been disappointing as Corbyn had failed to meet even the ‘minimum level of action’ necessary. As I wrote last week, these are the opening moves of a game ‘that must be played‘. Neither … Continue reading The Corbyn v Jews chess match. Gaining time by doing nothing

Alan Maddison, Labour Against the Witch-Hunt

Attacking Jews, the whole antisemitism crisis, will ‘be positive for Labour’

Since the Palestine Live report was first published on this blog 6 weeks ago, the focus on antisemitism in the Labour Party has intensified. I am working on two related reports and continue to engage with the sewer where the antisemitism exists. ‘Labour Against the Witch Hunt’, the group set up by people like Jackie Walker and Tony Greenstein, along with ‘Jewish Voice for Labour’ … Continue reading Attacking Jews, the whole antisemitism crisis, will ‘be positive for Labour’

Corbyn, Smeeth, Israel

We don’t choose our battles, like with Corbyn, some choose us

It is seventy years since the ‘Jewish People’s Council’ gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum and approved the proclamation declaring the establishment of the State of Israel. For six months, Jews had been engaged in a bloody civil conflict that would turn the right of having a state, into actually creating one. To do this they had to fight united groups that stood against them. … Continue reading We don’t choose our battles, like with Corbyn, some choose us

Germany

Before the Holocaust, a bureaucratic snapshot of European Jews in 1934

Today is Yom Hazikaron laShoah ve-laG’vurah (יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה) or ‘Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day’ in Israel.  It is celebrated on the 27th of Nisan (Hebrew calendar) each year. For me, a student of history, the Holocaust is a living thing, that has roots stretching back decades before Hitler came to power, and still reverberates today. Outside of the details in a book, the … Continue reading Before the Holocaust, a bureaucratic snapshot of European Jews in 1934

The Jewdas Gambit, assimilation and distorted statistics

Jeremy Corbyn attended a politicised Passover Seder service held by a fringe Jewish group called Jewdas. Up until three days ago many people had not heard of Jewdas and I imagine that they are thankful for all the publicity they have been given. Jewdas are agitators, which is why Jeremy Corbyn would probably feel at home with them. A small group of people on the … Continue reading The Jewdas Gambit, assimilation and distorted statistics