Job for the cops, not the rabbis

How should the Orthodox community handle allegations of sexual abuse? The scandal currently rocking London's Charedi world provides a classic example of how not to do it.

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The clock cannot simply be turned back for Iraq's Jews

Reading the interview with Iraqi Muslim academic Nabil al-Hadari last week, I was torn between admiration for his courage and a sense that his efforts are misdirected.

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Eating like Judas Escarrot

I'm not talking about heavy-duty antisemitism - I'll leave that to Melanie Phillips - but some people do make it hard being a Jew. For instance, why did the thieves who broke into my house steal almost nothing except my menorah? Was it antisemitism? It was certainly a nuisance. A good man is hard to find but a good menorah is harder. And this was a very good menorah.

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Staving off the winter blues

OK, it's the first week of January and I know for a fact that all of you are clinically depressed and will remain so until the clocks go forward. And yes, I know that it is dark out there from about lunch-time onward, the winter weather is, well, wintry and there are no holidays until Pesach.

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Wanted: educators, not wives

After much pressure the United Synagogue finally agreed to allow women to chair synagogue boards. Two weeks later chief rabbi-elect Ephraim Mirvis appointed Lauren Levine as a yoetzet halacha (halachic advisor) to Finchley Synagogue. It is often uncomfortable for a woman to ask sensitive halachic questions of a rabbi.

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Israel will pay the price for intransigence

Forty years ago the Fabian Society published my seminal pamphlet, Middle East Conflict: a tale of two peoples, which called for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. In this essay, I revisit the proposal and assess its relevance today.

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Right choice began at home

After months of leaks, rumours, deadlock and a search that spanned the globe, the committee to find the next chief rabbi picked Ephraim Mirvis of Kinloss. He is a wonderful rabbi with one of Britain's most prominent pulpits and he is someone that most in the Orthodox community knew all along was the correct candidate for the job.

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Time to rediscover the land where dreams are fulfilled

They wept on arrival, tears of joy, and sang the Hatikvah. After the plane landed on Israeli soil, there were emotional reunions for relatives long separated. The 53 men, women and children spoke of returning from exile, of a dream being fulfilled. "We've been waiting for this moment for hundreds of years," said one man.

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Alistair Burt: 'This year should be a year of peace'

I hope that the UK and Israel can continue to expand our co-operation in 2013.

Israel and the UK have been building new ties in fields such as life sciences, medicine and hi-tech. Only last month the UK appointed our first tech envoy in the world — to Israel. Our co-operation creates jobs, expands understanding and improves lives. We will redouble these efforts.

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Act now, don’t wait for tragedies like Sandy Hook

The tranquillity of Chanucah was shattered as news began to filter in of the tragic events unfolding at Sandy Hook Elementary School. We learned that 20 children aged six and seven, and six of their teachers and administrators had been murdered. As an Israeli friend put it: "We are a country that is used to being shocked, but this is truly shocking."

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