History of Israel on stage in 10 mins

A play written in response to the situation in Gaza is to be staged at a London theatre from next week.

Seven Jewish Children – A Play for Gaza, by Caryl Churchill, will run at the Royal Court Theatre from February 6 to 21. With a predominantly Jewish cast, it shows Jewish mothers talking to their children about the Gaza bombing.

Written earlier this month, the play is just 10 minutes long and described by the theatre as “a history of Israel, ending with the bombing of Gaza”.

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Horror email links IDF to Warsaw Nazis

Holocaust images displayed in a viral email alongside pictures taken during Israel’s military operation in Gaza have been condemned as grossly offensive.

Forty-two Shoah pictures and an equal number depicting what areclaimed to be equivalent scenes from Gaza have been emailed all over the world.

Eric Moonman, president of the Zionist Federation, said: “These pictures are grossly offensive and I am reporting them to the police as a malicious communication.

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Avoid capture at all costs, IDF were told

Israeli soldiers operating in Gaza had unofficial orders to foil Hamas attempts to capture their comrades, even if it cost a captured soldier’s life.

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Doubt cast on Hamas fatality numbers

Two weeks after the fighting in the Gaza Strip has ended, the battle over the exact number and identity of the Palestinians killed during Operation Cast Lead is still raging. Most of the international media has unquestioningly accepted the Hamas figures of 1,300 fatalities but there are other reports that put the numbers significantly lower.

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Gaza spurs Latin American fears

Israel’s Gaza operation has led to a rise in antisemitism in Latin America and fresh fears for the safety of Venezuelan Jews, according to a prominent Latin American Jewish organisation.

In an open letter, the Confederación Latinoamericana Maccabi (CLAM) has expressed grave concerns over a new wave of antisemitism in Venezuela, prompted by events in Gaza.

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Substitute stars in peace talks

A representative of grassroots peace organisation One Voice had to pull out of an adult education event at Woodside Park Synagogue to fly back to the Middle East to comfort a colleague after the death of several family members in Gaza.

The breach was filled at short notice by One Voice partnerships director Jake Hayman, who explained the aims of the organisation to a 50-strong audience, including many members of the shul’s youth group.

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Al Qaeda leader calls for Gaza reprisal in Britain

A Reuters reports says that an Al-Qaeda leader has called for retaliation attacks in Britain in return for the Gaza conflict, because, he says, the UK was behind the creation of Israel.

In a video posted on an Islamist website, Abu Yahya al-Libi, whose group took responsibility for the July 2005 terror attacks, said "It's high time that this criminal country, I mean Britain, paid the price of its historic crime. There is no child who dies in Palestine ... without this being the outcome of the (country) that handed Palestine to the Jews ... Britain."

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Renewed hope for talks to free Shalit

Israel hopes to renew negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit, writes Yaakov Katz, if the new ceasefire holds, defence officials said this week.

Talks over Mr Shalit’s release have been suspended since the last ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect in June. But military officials said it was now possible that Operation Cast Lead will cause the group to ease its demand for the release of 1,400 Palestinian prisoners.

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