Tough neighbours

A few years ago, Ehud Barak, now Israel's Defence Minister, told a CNN interviewer: "We are living in a tough neighbourhood." That was back in the days when the focus was on the Israel-Palestine conflict and it was easier for the West's anti-Israel constituency to ignore the cut-throat régimes that surround the Jewish homeland.

So now that the horror of Assad's crackdown on pro-democracy demon

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Building bridges

Our story this week about a humanitarian and outreach organisation, founded by a rabbi to harness Israeli know-how for developing countries, may surprise readers.

Unusually the rabbi is both British and Orthodox, a combination not often found in this field.

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Another fine mess

Last week we reported that the DfID minister, Alan Duncan, had accused Israel in a video of a "land grab" through the erection of the security wall and of stealing Palestinian water - accusations which were described by Foreign Office officials as being an accurate statement of government policy.

It was difficult to imagine how the government could make things worse, but it managed to find a wa

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Tweeting our ID

Who are we? The JC has joined with the Jewish Community Centre for London to host a round table on Jewish identity. But it's not just any round table - broadcast live here on the website on September 5, we want you to tweet your comments and questions and make this a truly interactive event.

Who do you think you are? Let us know on September 5 via #jewishID.

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Policy revealed

We have had cause before to comment on apparent inconsistencies in the government's attitude to Israel. But the latest example, from Alan Duncan, minister for International Development, is something else again.

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Legitimate protest

As we watch 200,000 people march through Tel Aviv and gangs of thugs run riot in British cities, there will be some who are tempted to make some sort of connection.

Events have that effect on otherwise sensible people. The plain truth, however, is that the two are polar opposites and the idea of any lessons to be drawn by comparing the two is simply idiotic.

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Travelling far

Of very few people can it be said that they truly put their stamp on a place, but the businessman and entrepreneur, David Lewis, who died this week in London, did so.

The King Solomon Hotel in Eilat, which opened in 1984, was the first of a string of Isrotel hotels to which thousands of British holidaymakers, by no means all Jewish, have flocked over the years.

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An Israeli protest

There have been few more egregious examples of unthinking commentary about Israel than the references by some pundits and politicians in recent weeks to what they term the 'Israeli Summer', as if the 'Tent City' protest in Tel Aviv was somehow an extension of the Arab Spring.

The Arab protestors were seeking basic freedoms in countries ruled by despots.

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Plot line to cherish

It's a storyline the EastEnders scriptwriters would have been proud of.

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Lush's calumnies

Tis newspaper does not believe in formalised boycotts. But the behaviour of Lush, the skincare chain, may well prompt individuals to decide that they do not wish to hand over cash to the company.

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