When Jew shoots at Jew

The Russian invasion of Georgia has been compared to many historical conflicts - from Iraq 2003 to Czechoslovakia and Munich 1938 - so here's another one: World War One.

In Jewish history, the Great War went down as the conflict in which Jews shot at Jews. Hundreds of thousands served with the warring armies of Britain, Germany, Austria, Russia, Italy, the US and Turkey.

The Balfour Declaration cast the allies as the pro-Zionists, but over 12,000 German Jews died for the fatherland.

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An arms role to be ashamed of

Once upon a time, at least in the popular imagination, Israel's biggest export was oranges. Could it now be mercenaries?

Conspiracist websites abound with claims that Israelis are behind every junta, coup or military regime in the world. All this would be easy to dismiss as antisemitic delusions... if it wasn't so close to being true.

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Shame on those of our leaders who back Chavez

World Jewish Congress officials lost the plot when they called a recent meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez "successful", saying that he had joined the struggle against antisemitism.

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Messianics are threatening Israel’s identity

Israelis who believe in Jesus are gaining too much sway in the Jewish state

Some call it a miracle," states a Christian Broadcasting Network report on the Messianic Jewish community in Israel. "Many say it's the strongest growth since the time of Jesus and that the Messianic movement could be on the brink of a great revival."

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Hidden threat of the credit crunch

In these tough financial times we need to rediscover what ‘community' really means

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To help Israel’s Arabs is to support democracy

The New Israel Fund has been attacked for supporting an Arab charity that wants to diminish Israel's Jewish character. Its chairman replies

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Gaza’s withdrawal symptoms

Israel's unilateralism during the disengagement doomed the Strip

Abu Salach's little café barely qualified for the title. With a couple of plastic tables shaded from the fierce Gaza sun by a grapevine trellis, the only goods on sale were minibar-sized bottles of soda, lemonade, and plates of near-inedible hummus. But he had big plans. His neighbours in the nearby settlement of Shirat Hayam were being turfed out - hence the boost in custom from journalists and IDF spokesmen - and he was going to get back access to the stunning beach, just two minutes away.

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Sorry, they don’t all hate us

Are we becoming too sensitive about what we call ‘antisemitism'?

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Holocaust humour can be funny

Should we worry about a spate of Shoah jokes on television? Depends on their context

Humour and the Holocaust. That's a dissertation title right there. During the last couple of weeks, we have seen on our screens a few more examples of the merging of the two, a combination which many people would argue should not even exist. I'm not one of them but we'll get to that in a sec.

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Be aware: not all Israeli charities are equal

Why is one of our largest fundraisers giving money to a group that wants to erase Israel's Jewish character?

The New Israel Fund (NIF), one of the UK's largest Jewish charities, exists to promote the values of justice, democracy and equality in Israel. Unlike some civil society groups, this is not mere lip service and NIF can justly be proud of an impressive record of achievement. Their work to promote civil rights, women's rights and minority rights has secured their reputation as an anchor of Israel's voluntary sector.

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